Bli 221b1e PDF
Bli 221b1e PDF
Bli 221b1e PDF
Block
1
LIBRARY AND INFORMATION IN SOCIAL
PERSPECTIVE
UNIT 1
Libraries, Information and Knowledge-based Society 5
UNIT 2
Types of Libraries 32
UNIT 3
Information Institutions 69
UNIT 4
Laws of Library Science 95
Programme Design Committee
Prof. Uma Kanjilal (Chairperson) Prof. S.B. Ghosh, Retired Professor
Faculty of LIS, SOSS, IGNOU Faculty of LIS, SOSS, IGNOU, New Delhi
Prof. B.K.Sen, Retired Scientist Prof. T. Viswanathan, Retired Director
NISCAIR, New Delhi NISCAIR, New Delhi
Prof. K.S. Raghavan, DRTC Dr. Zuchamo Yanthan
Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore Faculty of LIS, SOSS, IGNOU, New Delhi
Prof. Krishan Kumar, Retired Professor Conveners:
Dept. of LIS, University of Delhi, Delhi
Dr. Jaideep Sharma
Prof. M.M. Kashyap, Retired Professor Faculty of LIS, SOSS, IGNOU, New Delhi
Dept. of LIS, University of Delhi, Delhi
Prof. Neena Talwar Kanungo
Prof. R.Satyanarayana Faculty of LIS, SOSS, IGNOU, New Delhi
Retired Professor, Faculty of LIS
SOSS, IGNOU, New Delhi
Dr. R. Sevukan (Former Faculty
Member) of LIS, SOSS
IGNOU, New Delhi
The growing importance of information and its presence in electronic form has
resulted in the conceptualisation of a number of other information institutions.
Their evolution, character, structure and functions have been discussed in
Unit 3. De-institutionalisation of information and its disintermediation have also
been dealt with in the Unit.
4
Libraries, Information and
UNIT 1 LIBRARIES, INFORMATION AND Knowledge-based Society
KNOWLEDGE-BASED SOCIETY
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Modern Society: Some Characteristics
1.2.1 Role of Libraries in Society
1.2.2 Information and its Impact on Society
1.3 Information Society
1.3.1 Information Society: Evolution of the Concept
1.3.2 Definition and Meaning of Information Society
1.3.3 Factors Determining the Arrival of Information Society
1.3.4 Different Perceptions of Information Society
1.4 Knowledge Society
1.4.1 Definition of Knowledge Society
1.4.2 Characteristics of Knowledge Society
1.4.3 Establishment of Knowledge-based Society
1.4.4 Knowledge-based Economy (KBE)
1.5 Summary
1.6 Answers to Self Check Exercises
1.7 Keywords
1.8 References and Further Reading
1.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
• explain the characteristics of modern society;
• list the type of institutions founded by it to meet its activities;
• comprehend the need for and role of libraries to meet the different
requirements of persons in society;
• discuss the expanding dimensions of libraries and new information
institutions in a changing society;
• explain the concept of information society and its impact on information
profession;
• discuss the meaning of Knowledge Society, its impact on economy; and
• explain the concept of National Knowledge Commission (NKC) and its
recommendations.
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Modern society is a society of institutions. Peter Drucker observes that “every
major task, whether economic performance, or health care, education, or
protection of environment, the pursuit of new knowledge or defence, is today 5
Library and Information in being entrusted to big organisations, designed for perpetuity and managed by
Social Perspective
their managements. On the performance of these institutions, the performance
of modern society – if not the survival of each individual – increasingly depends”.
He further affirms that every institution comprises human beings – men and
women, whose performance brings success or failure to the institution and thereby
to the society.
Libraries rank among society’s most important and useful cultural institutions.
They play a vital role in the world’s systems of communication and education.
The numerous resources and services that libraries provide help people to carry
out their work, studies and leisure-time activities. Libraries provide access to
knowledge and information that has been accumulated throughout history. People
of all walks of life – including students, teachers, scientists, business executives
and government officials – use library resources for their work. Since knowledge
and information are so vital for all round human development, libraries and
other institutions that handle knowledge and information are invaluable to the
society.
In this Unit, an attempt is made to introduce to you the important role that libraries
play in the educational process of formal and non-formal learning, in research
and development, etc. It may be noted that with spectacular advances in
Information Communication Technology (ICT) and increasing groups of users
and their information requirements in different situations, modern society is
heading towards an information society in which the central instrument of change,
force and direction of change, are knowledge and information. Proper
understanding and assimilation of these ideas is essential for you to fully grasp
the role of libraries in the emerging information and knowledge society.
If we closely examine the dominant view through most of history has been that
libraries were places where written, including printed materials were held together
both for security and to create a collection organised for use. The collection was
paramount and steps had to be taken to secure its development and
representativeness. Also, besides collection, resource organisation became
increasingly important. Along side the concepts of collection, the organisation
of access to knowledge and the needs of the user as an individual, strengthened
the view that the library was a social institution which played a role in the
organisation of society. This is considered a progressive view, seeing the public
library as a means to spread literacy and love for learning.
The current model of a library is relatively straight forward. The library is the
interface between the users and the vast amounts of published and unpublished
information available. Most libraries place great emphasis on their role in
facilitating and supporting learning. The issue for libraries is to provide a range
of services which support lifelong learners who choose to learn in any one of the
many modes, and probably in a personal mix of all modes. Therefore, there is a
considerable challenge for librarians, across most sectors, to develop their direct
involvement in the delivery of learning. As a matter of fact, understanding of
pedagogical principles will help librarians to be more effective in designing and
delivering services and in demonstrating the relevance and importance of library.
One thing must be emphasised, libraries are fundamentally service organisations.
What they do is intended to benefit people of all ages and backgrounds. They are
7
Library and Information in quite clearly in the business of helping their users to develop knowledge and
Social Perspective
understanding. Both, services and knowledge, are firmly at the centre of
community development, whether globally or locally. The offering of knowledge
- based service and the continuous enhancement of its quality have provided
business with an avenue for differentiation from their competitors. But, libraries
do not conduct business. They are unique and need to progress in the 21st century
empowering themselves to meet the changing needs of the society. The paradigm
shifts taking place in libraries to effectively meet the changing needs of the society
are indicated in the table1.1.
From To
Custodian of books Service oriented information
provider
One medium Multiple media
Own collection Library without walls
In good time Just-in-time
In sourcing Out sourcing
Local reach Global reach
We go to the library The library comes to you
There has been a debate in the literature questioning the future of libraries. Some
experts express the view that the existence of libraries is under threat. They
opine that faced with the challenges of the twenty-first century, the library users
will demand just-in-time information to help them answer specific questions,
address specific problems and strategise. Providing information in good time
will no longer be an acceptable norm. The user will want the information made
available at the push of a button and in the right form and right format. In order
to stay relevant, libraries and librarians must realise this and cater to the new
society and demands of knowledge-based economy. Librarians must
re-engineer the library to serve changing needs and to offer more personalised
and customised services. The answer to the question “what is our business?”
will help to chart the new course and ensure that libraries stay relevant and play
central role in the socio-economic development of the country.
8
Information and knowledge are deemed to be social wealth. The benefits of this Libraries, Information and
Knowledge-based Society
social wealth should be available to all the members of the society. This social
wealth is available in a variety of physical forms (e.g. books, periodicals,
microfilms, computerised databases, etc.). Ordinary citizens require a variety of
information in their daily discharge of duties. Use of information certainly affects
their mental growth and brings changes in their outlook as well as lifestyles.
According to Branscomb (1986) “it is a society where the majority of people are
engaged in creating, gathering, storage, processing or distribution of information”.
Manfred Kochen (1987) writes that the simple notion of a society in which
information rather than material flows constitute most of its “communication
and control” exchanges is extended to stress that:
i) Most members generate knowledge by knowledge-based procedures that
are knowledge-intensive;
ii) Information consistently reflects basic social variants;
iii) Reason and human values rather than strength and expediency manage
conflicts between pressures to conserve invariants and pressure to adoptive
change.
Having stated all this, Manfred Kochen adds that “an information society is a
stage in the evolution of community brains, towards a world brain! This is
probably most likely to be the essence of the great transition that futurists seem
to agree on. When enough people begin to believe it as likely to happen, if it is a
stage in natural cultural evolution, then this belief may contribute to its self
fulfilment. It will take some decades before this idea is sufficiently widespread
and until the first information society appears”. Ronfeldt (1992) is of the opinion
that “information society is one which sees the steady blurring of the boundaries,
which presently separate computer hardware, communication systems and
satellites, global networks and more”. While none of the above quoted definitions
is wrong, they serve to emphasise the fluidity of present situation, one which
suggests that what is likely to emerge – and certainly in short term – is a series of
parallel information societies, between which users switch according to their
need. The convergences these separate structures may, or may not, come according
to the type of information society which finally emerges.
Another expert Martin, James (1978) maintains that “the term (information
society) has come to represent societies at an advanced post-industrial stage,
characterised by high degree of computerisation, large volume of electronic data
transmission and an economic profile heavily influenced by the market and
employment possibilities of information technology”.
The Information Society concept has close affinities with the theory of post-
industrial society of Daniel Bell. In The Coming of Post-Industrial Society (1973)
11
Library and Information in Bell argued that the increased part played by science in the productive process,
Social Perspective
the rise to prominence of professional, scientific and technical groups and the
introduction of computer technology are all evidence of a new axial principle at
the core of the socio economic system, namely, the centrality of theoretical
knowledge. The emerging social framework of Information Society builds upon
this base. Information increasingly becomes a source of added value and thus
wealth. A growing portion of workers is employed in the Information Sphere.
A) Technological Perception
The most common perspective of information society lays emphasis upon
spectacular technological innovation. The important idea is that
breakthroughs in information processing, storage and transmission have led
to the application of information technology (IT) in virtually all the areas of
society. Although IT occupies a central role in all the literature on information
society, this perspective emphasises the technological infrastructure to the
exclusion of other social, economic and political attributes. Martin provided
a number of scenarios detailing life in the information society specially, the
spread of digital networks as the key element.
The convergence of computing and telecommunications resulted in the
linking of computers enabling the establishment of global networks. The
development of ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network) will provide the
infrastructure supporting the key ingredient of post-industrial-society-
information. The rapid growth of the Internet appears to bring about precisely
this change.
In other words, the technological perspective effectively draws attention to
the potential benefits of information technologies for the society.
However, with such emphasis on technology, generally removed from a
social, cultural and political context, it is unable to provide adequate
foundation for defining the attributes of information society. Also, the problem
of measurement, and the associated difficulty of stipulating the point on
technological scale, at which a society is judged to have entered an
information age, is surely central to any acceptable definition of a distinctly
new type of society. It is ignored by popular futurists. The authors of this
school of thought are content to describe, in general terms, technological
innovations, presuming that this is enough to distinguish the new society.
“There are some serious scholars who encounter two problems. First, how
does one come to measure the rate of technological diffusion, and, second
when does a society cease to being industrial and enter into the information
category?” (Webster, 2003)
B) Economic Perception
Some of the authors who write about information society point to the growth
of the service sector in the industrialised nations and the decline of
employment in manufacturing. For some of the authors, the dominant
characteristic of an information society is the nature of its economy. Machlup
(1962) initiated this research perspective by analysing the growth of the
“knowledge sector” in the US economy. In Machlup’s analysis, industries
primarily concerned with production and distribution of knowledge
(knowledge industries) were examined separately, rather than as a part of
the overall service sector. The knowledge industries included such areas as
educational system, the media and other communicative activities, libraries
and other information activities, and research/institutes. The contribution of
13
Library and Information in this sector to the Gross National Product (GNP) was found to be significant
Social Perspective
(estimated at about 40% for the early 1960s) and growing at a rate
considerably higher than the industrial sector. Machlup concluded that
knowledge industries would soon outpace the industrial sector, leading to
the rise of a knowledge society. A similar conclusion was reached at about
the same time in Japan, as Umaseo (1963) predicted the rise of the spiritual
industries over material and agricultural sectors in economies that were more
developed. These earlier studies distinguished knowledge or information
sector from other economic sectors.
The best known and often cited study on the emergence of an information
economy conceived on these lines is the report from Marc Porat (1977).
Porat initiated much of this work, by broadening the view of information
work to apply to more than those jobs falling within the information or
knowledge sector as defined by Machlup. Porat began by defining information
activities as including all resources consumed in producing, processing, and
distributing information goods and services. He defined the primary
information sector as including all those businesses involved in the exchange
of information goods and services in the market place. In addition, however,
Porat noted that a great many jobs in other sectors of economy can be thought
of as information work. Nearly, every organisation produces, processes, and
distributes information for its own internal consumption. Thus, a secondary
information sector includes these information activities. Porat estimated that
overall information activities accounted for 45% of the gross national product
in1967, and that half of the labour force was employed in information-related
work. This study has been used to justify references to United States as an
information society. Several authors have attempted to refine Porat’s analysis
and apply it in other contexts (Komastujaki, 1986, Schement, Lievrouw,
and Dordick, 1983). This perspective focuses on the economy as the primary
attribute of the information society. It may be stated that examining the
economic structure alone provides only a limited view of the social and
cultural implications associated with information societies. Also, several
critics contend that Porat’s classification of information workers is too broad
to be meaningful, and does little to suggest social implications of the shift to
an information society (Bates, 1985, Wizard, 1984). Bates, for example, has
noted that according to Porat, factory workers assembling information
transmission equipment are considered information workers; just as are
university researchers. This does not appear to be logical.
He felt that such a categorisation may weaken the social distinctiveness of
the information sector. There are other types of objections and criticisms on
Porat’s analysis. However, such objections may not entirely invalidate the
findings of Porat and are not intended to do that.
Marc Porat has been able to distinguish two information sectors: primary
and secondary, then to consolidate them, and separate out the non-
informational elements of the economy. Porat, by re-aggregating national
economic statistics, is able to conclude that 46% of the U.S. GNP is accounted
for by the information sector. “The United States is now an Information
based economy”. As such, it is an “Information Society (where) the major
arenas of economic activity are information goods and service producers,
and the public and private (secondary information sector) bureaucracies”.
14
C) Occupational Perception Libraries, Information and
Knowledge-based Society
Another popular measure of the emergence of an information society is the
one that focuses on occupational change. The contention is that we have
achieved an Information Society when the predominance of occupations is
found in information. That is to say, in Information society, the number of
people employed in occupations such as teaching, research and development
and activities associated with creative industries (media, design, arts) out-
numbers those employed in factories. The main characteristic of these people
is high level of education. The occupational definition of information society
is often combined with an economic measure. Porat calculated that the late
1960’s, a little under half of the US labour force was to be found in the
information sector. Porat connects the growth of economic significance of
information with changing occupational patterns. Most identifiers of an
information society draw on occupational changes as indicators of the
approach of a new age, which reflects the introduction of new technologies.
In other words, the shift in distribution of occupations is at the heart of the
theory of the information society.
D) Spatial Perception
This perception of the information society has at its core the distinctive stress
on space. Here the major emphasis is on the information networks that connect
locations and as a result have great effect on the organisation of time and
space. This aspect has been considered as an index of information society in
recent years. The centrality of information networks linking together locations
within and between towns, regions, nations and continents and indeed the
entire world, is an important consideration for spatial perspective. In many
writings, the technological bases of the information networks is emphasised
because these networks provide the infrastructure that enables information
to be processed and distributed. These developments may lead to an emerging
networked society. The salient idea here is of information circulating along
electronic highways. But, no one has been able to quantify how much and at
what rate information must flow along these routes to constitute an
information society. Though, no one could deny that information networks
are an important feature of modern societies and do facilitate instantaneous
communications round the globe, databases can be accessed from any place
to any place, still some people would ask “why should the presence of
networks lead analysts to categorise societies as information economies?”.
It may be stated that the question of what constitutes a network is a serious
one and raises the problem of how to distinguish different levels of networking
as also how we stipulate a point at which we have entered a network/
information Society.
E) Cultural Perception
Developments such as invention of radio, television, and computers coupled
with the recent advances in telecommunication networks and media
technologies are having great impact on the life styles of people as a whole.
It is stated that presently we are living in a media-laden society and the
informational features of our world are thoroughly penetrative now than in
earlier times. In fact, the informational environment is a great deal more
intimate and more constitutive of us. For example, the informational
15
Library and Information in dimensions of the clothes we wear, the styling of hair and faces, the very
Social Perspective
ways in which we work makes one aware that social intercourse nowadays
involves greater degree of informational content than before. According to
Webster (1996), “contemporary culture is manifested by more heavily
information laden than any of its predecessors. We exist in media-saturated
environment that means life is quintessentially about symbolisation, about
exchanging and receiving messages about ourselves and others. It is
acknowledgement of this explosion of signification many writers conceive
of our having entered an Information Society”. But no writer attempted to
measure this development in quantitative terms and only describe our living
in a sea of signs one fuller than at any other epoch. In the other words, “we
are surrounded by more and more information and less and less meaning.”
One of the goals of the first phase of the WSIS was precisely to develop a
common vision of information society. Although a large part of the
government delegations and the private sector attributed little importance to
this aspect, for many organisations in civil society, it was dealing with a key
issue, for it was there the controversy regarding its meaning took place,
evidencing the clash among projects of society.
In the first approach, to talk about the information society refers to a new
development paradigm that assigns technology to a causal role in the social
order, designating it as the drive of the economic development. For the
developing countries, this discourse implies that the transition towards
information society is essentially a matter of time and of political decision
to create adequate empowering conditions. Something similar occurred with
regard to the social sectors affected by the digital gap, which would have to
be included via universal access programs. By placing technology at the
core of this model, the telecommunications industry is convoked to lead this
development; while industry that produces services and digital content
assumes a hitherto unheard of influence.
The second approach, which contested the first in the Summit process,
sustains that the new phase of human development that we are entering into
is characterised by the predominance of information, communication, and
knowledge in the economy as well as human activities. According to this
standpoint, technology is the support that has unleashed the acceleration of
this process; but it is not a neutral factor, nor is its course inexorable, since
technological development is guided by games of interest
“Today on the political level and also in many scientific disciplines, the
assumption that we are already living in a knowledge-based society … the vision
of a knowledge-based society determines at least the perception of the Western
Societies” (Krings, 2006).
19
Library and Information in In a knowledge society the traditional measures of competitiveness such as labour
Social Perspective
costs, recourse endowments and infrastructure are replaced by new dimensions
(indicators) such as patents, research and development (R&D), availability of
(or capability to afford) knowledge workers. The emphasis is not on the knowledge
anybody has but the knowledge one produces. Knowledge resides exclusively in
people. Therefore, it is clear that the greatest wealth of any nation, any society is
its people. This is vastly underused resource, which offers the opportunity for
any country to make major breakthrough, and catch up with countries presently
more developed.
It may be stated that the emergence of knowledge society means an ever increasing
demand for a well-educated and skilled workforce across the whole economy. In
this connection, it is worth noting that the appointment of the National Knowledge
Commission (NKC) by the Government of India has been a step in the right
direction. The NKC had been entrusted with the preparation of a blueprint for
reform of our knowledge related institutions and infrastructure. It has submitted
its report that will take us a long way in the knowledge society.
While there have been a lot of discussions on the characteristics of a KBE at the
international arena, there is so far no internationally agreed framework for
measuring a KBE. Different frameworks have been developed by individual
countries and international organisations.
To fully understand the working of the KBE, new economic concepts and
measures are required which track phenomena beyond conventional market
transactions. In general, it was suggested by OECD that improved indicators for
the KBE are needed for the following tasks:
• Measuring knowledge inputs;
• Measuring knowledge stocks and flows;
• Measuring knowledge outputs;
• Measuring knowledge networks; and
• Measuring knowledge and learning.
A full account of research conducted by OECD for developing improved
indicators for the KBE can be found in the OECD publication “The Knowledge-
based Economy”, 1996.
The World Bank has recently developed the knowledge assessment methodology
and score cards. They have formulated the set of 63 variables as proxies for four
areas that they consider essential in the development of knowledge-based
economy (KBE). They are:
• Economic and institutional regime to provide incentives for the efficient
use of existing and new knowledge and flourishing of entrepreneurship,
• An educated and skilled population to create, share and use knowledge well,
• A dynamic information infrastructure to facilitate the effective
communication and processing of information, and
• An effective innovation system of firms, research centres, universities and
other organisations.
Each country should develop its own path to sustainable knowledge-based society.
Once such a society is established it is assuring prosperity, social cohesion and
even happiness, but the way to this goal is not free of dangers and threats.
Developing Countries
As part of economic history, the knowledge era has unfolded with remarkable
speed. As a consequence most basic tools for creating and managing wealth has
22
lagged far behind the need. This is true of most of the developing countries. Libraries, Information and
Knowledge-based Society
Knowledge has become the corner stone of wealth creation in a knowledge society.
Intellectual capital comprises three primary types of capital: human capital,
structural capital and customer capital. Of these human capital is the most
important one. Developing countries need to recognise and value its human
resources capital and capitalise on it to the task of amassing wealth of knowledge
which works for the poor and promotes social equality. The wealth of knowledge
will enable the developing countries to emerge as strong economies and become
independent of low cost labour increasing productivity as well as incomes.
Therefore, it is necessary to open up avenues for knowledge incubation to be
supplemented by capacity building support and enabling policy frameworks.
These policy frameworks are intended to provide opportunities for people to use
the power of knowledge for advancing their growth.
In many cases, access to information was, and is, via libraries. Information
systems tend to be based on, or geared to, the processing and organisational
requirements of institutional information centres. This pattern has, however,
begun to change as a result of developments in computing and communication
technologies. Technology appears capable of deinstitutionalising information
and handing over access to individual, thus cracking the mould of library.
The fundamentalists view is that the pace of development in ICTs will soon
make the traditional librarian / information worker obsolete. It has been
remarked that there is no long term future for any library in the form we
know it today; libraries as collection of physical artefacts are rapidly becoming
obsolescent. Of course, this fundamentalist position however, is rigidly
simplistic. The social, cultural and educational function of libraries and
information profession is also being challenged. In other words, the library
24
as the traditional store house of knowledge and the preserve of cultural Libraries, Information and
Knowledge-based Society
heritage is caught in the maelstrom of change generated by technological
advances. Therefore, as a adaptive reaction, attempts to define the goals of
the library are called for. The library profession must revise its service delivery
philosophies and operational mechanisms. There is a shift from a passive or
reactive to a proactive mode. Naturally, this entails on the part of libraries
evaluation exercises, the design and promotion of new systems and facilities,
investment of time in user education programmes and acquisition of relevant
professional skills and competencies for those already in the field. With the
availability of sophisticated information technology valuable professional
talents must be directed towards enhancing the image of the library as a
dynamic information centre with a wide range of services to offer its users.
Efforts should be made to enable users to view the librarian as valuable
professional resource person who can quickly locate the information and
materials needed to support their intellectual pursuits in a total spectrum of
subject areas. To meet the changing needs of the clientele, libraries must be
more creative and provide access to resources available in other libraries via
networking, and electronic resources for those who can not afford home
computers or terminals. Of course, library users must be made to understand
the difference between information which is freely available, and information
which is free.
Two major factors underline the Information Society claims. Firstly, that the
society is becoming increasingly centred on information handling, processing,
storage and dissemination using micro – electronics – based technologies,
made available through the convergence of computer with telecommunications,
namely ICT. And secondly, that this shift is reflected in an emerging
occupational structure, in which the category of “Information workers” has
become predominant. In other words, the Information Society appears as an
out come of technological and economic changes.
25
Library and Information in 3) Attributes of Information Society are:
Social Perspective
i) Shift from an industrial economy to information economy.
That is to say that in industrial economy capital is the strategic resource,
while in Information Economy information becomes the strategic
resource;
ii) a telecommunication based information service infrastructure;
iii) a high degree of computerisation, large volumes of electronic data
transmission and employment of IT;
iv) characterised by the fact that the rapid convenient delivery of needed
information is the ordinary state of affairs.
4) Economic implications of Information Society:
Information Society might be characterised by different dimensions. One of
these relates to the economic structure. We come across several references
in literature to the economic implications of the Information Society.
The state of information in the economy has pervasive effects on the working
of economy generally. It has great impacts on those sectors that provide
information products and services such as press, television, radio, film …
libraries and other information providers.
Marc Porat, who continued the research in this direction, enlarged the scope
of information work to include all jobs falling within the information or
knowledge sector as defined by Machlup. According to Porat information
activities included all resources consumed in producing, processing and
distributing information goods and services. Porat estimated that these
activities amounted for 45% of the GNP in 1967.
Learning to master the four kinds of knowledge takes place through different
channels. While know-what and know-why can be obtained through reading
books, attending lectures and accessing databases, the other two kinds of
knowledge are rooted primarily in practical experience. Know-how will
typically be learned in situations where an apprentice follows a master and
relies upon him as the authority. Know-who is learned in social practice and
some times in specialised educational environments. It also develops in a
day-today dealings with customers, sub-contractors and independent
institutes. This is one of the reasons why private firms engage in basic research
to acquire access to networks of academic experts crucial for their innovative
capability. Know-who is socially embedded which can not easily be
transformed through formal channels of information.
The term KBE (or some times called New Economy or Modern Economy)
results from a fuller recognition of the role of knowledge and technology in
27
Library and Information in economic growth. Knowledge as embedded in human being (as human
Social Perspective
capital) and in technology has always been central to economic development.
The term KBE was first coined by OECD and defined as “economies which
are directly based on the production, distribution and use of knowledge and
information” (OECD, 1996). The APEC then extended this idea to state
that in a KBE “the production, distribution and use of knowledge is the
main driver of growth, wealth creation and employment across all industries”
(APEC, 2000). While the KBE ideally encompasses concepts like innovation,
higher education and R&D, it is broader than this and highlights the
importance of knowledge in all aspects of economy.
To fully comprehend the working of the KBE, new economic concepts and
measures are required which track the phenomena beyond conventional
market transactions. In general it was suggested that improved indicators
for the KBE are needed for the following tasks:
• Measuring knowledge inputs;
• Measuring knowledge stocks and flows;
• Measuring knowledge outputs;
• Measuring knowledge networks; and
• Measuring knowledge and learning.
8) Knowledge exists in the minds of the people and when combined with capital,
labour existing knowledge and other inputs, produces goods and services
and thus becomes a factor of productivity. This fact has been realised by
many developed nations and they have transformed into knowledge-based
economies where conventional raw materials and physical labour (Brute –
force economy) is being replaced by brain – force economy. Developing
nations need to recognise and value its human resources capital and capitalise
on it to the task of amassing wealth of knowledge which works for the poor
and promotes social equality. The wealth of knowledge in turn will create
opportunities for developing countries to emerge from dependence of low
cost labour as a source of comparative advantage increasing productivity
and incomes. Avenues need to be created for knowledge incubation (growth)
to be supplemented by capacity – building support and enabling policy frame
works which provide opportunities to people to use power of knowledge for
improving their growth.
1.7 KEYWORDS
Information Age : A period predominantly centred on information
activities.
Information Channel : Established carriers that disseminate information
or knowledge.
Information Economy : Is a philosophy, an attempt to model the national
economy with its basis on knowledge and
information activities, and which has continued
to affect, in important ways, the economic, social,
political and cultural life of the nation.
28
Information Flow : Information transfer through established channels. Libraries, Information and
Knowledge-based Society
Information Industry : Industries involved in the production of
information in any physical form.
Information Need : The term “Information Need” refers to that need
which library services or materials are intended
to satisfy. It is assumed that the consumption of
information arises from a need for information.
Information Transfer : The movement of information from generation to
Process use with a series of intermediate links that connects
each other to form a chain.
Information Work-Force: The term has acquired a wider connotation and
includes many groups who are involved in a
variety of information related occupations. The
OECD categorisation includes: Information
producers, Information processors, Information
distributors and Information Infrastructure
occupations, under this concept …
Infosphere : Is a neologism coined by Luciano Floridi on the
basis of biosphere? It denotes the whole
informational environment constituted by all
informational entities (thus including informational
agents as well), their properties, interactions,
process and mutual relations. It is an environment
comparable to, but different from cyberspace
(which is only one of its sub-regions, as it were),
since it also includes off-line and analogue spaces
of information. It is a concept that is rapidly
evolving.
Kinds of Knowledge:
i) know-what : Refers to knowledge about facts such as How
many people live in Delhi? What are the
ingredients of pancakes?, When was the battle of
Panipat fought?, are some of the examples. Here,
knowledge is close to what is normally called as
information.
ii) know-why : Refers to scientific knowledge of the principles
and laws of nature. This kind of knowledge
underlies technological development and product
and process advances in most industries. The
production of this kind of knowledge is often
organised in specialised organisations such as
research labs, universities, etc.
iii) know-how : Refers to skills or capability to do something.
Businessmen judging market prospects for a new
product or a personnel manager selecting and
training staff have to use their know-how.
29
Library and Information in Know-how is typically a kind of knowledge
Social Perspective
developed and kept ready with in the border of an
individual firm.
iv) know-who : Involves information about who knows what and
who knows how to do what. It involves the
formation of special social relationships which
makes it possible to get access to experts and use
their knowledge efficiently. This kind of
knowledge is internal to the organisation to a
higher degree than any other kind of knowledge.
It is very important for any modern manager or
organisation to have this.
Post-Industrial Society : The thesis propounded by Daniel Bell. The concept
emphasises the centrality of theoretical knowledge
and the axis around which new technology,
economic growth and the ramification of the
society will be organised. This axial principle is
becoming more and more predominant in
advanced industrial societies.
Social Wealth : Wealth available freely to all members of a society.
30
Kochen, Manfred. A New Concept of Information Society. London: ASLIB, 1987. Libraries, Information and
Knowledge-based Society
141-154. Print.
Krings, Bettina. “The sociological perspective on the knowledge-based society:
assumptions, facts and visions”, Enterprise and Work Innovation Studies, 2, IET,
(2006): 9-19. Web 26 September 2012. <http://run.unl.pt/handle/10362/1706>
Lundvall, B and Johnson, B. “The Learning Economy”. Journal of Industry
Studies. 1. 2 (1994). Print.
Lyon, D. Information Society: Issues and Illusions. Cambridge: Polity Press,
1988. Print.
Machlup, F. The Production and Distribution of Knowledge in the United States.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1962. Print.
Martin, James. The Wired Society. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1978.
Print.
Martin W.J. The Global Information Society. 2nd rev. ed. London: ASLIB Gower,
1995. 1-16. Print.
Masuda, Y. Information Society as a Post-industrial Society. Bethesda, Md: Future
Society, 1981. Print.
OECD. The Knowledge-Based Economy. Paris: OECD, 1996. Web 26th
September 2012. < http://www.oecd.org/science/scienceandtechnologypolicy/
1913021.pdf>
Porat, M.U. The Information Economy: Definition and Measurement.
Washington: Department of Commerce, 1977. Print.
Ronfeldt, D. (1992). “Cyberocracy is Coming”. The Information Society.
8.4(1992): 243-296.
Sweeny, G.P., ed. Information and the Transformation of Society. North Holland:
Amsterdam, 1982. Print.
Slaus, Ivo. “Building the Knowledge - based Society: The Case of South East
Europe”. Futures. 39.8 (2007): 986-996. Print.
Stipanov, J 2005. Knowledge Society and Public Libraries. Paper presented at
the Naple Conference, Supetar, October 6-7, 2005. Print.
Toffler, A. Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth and Violence at the Edge of 21st
Century. New York: Bantam, 1996. Print.
Umaseo, T. “Joho Sangyo Ron. [On Information Industries”.]. Chuokohron. 1963;
3-4. Print.
Webster F. “The Information Society: Conceptions and Critique”. Encyclopaedia
of Library and Information Science. Vol.58 (21). New York: Marcell Dekker,
1996. 74-112. Print.
--- . “Knowledgeability and Democracy in an Information Age”. Library Review
48.8 (1999): 373-383. Print.
--- . Theories of the Information Society. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2002. Print.
31
Library and Information in
Social Perspective UNIT 2 TYPES OF LIBRARIES
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Types of Libraries
2.2.1 National Libraries
2.2.2 Academic Libraries
2.2.3 Public Libraries
2.2.4 Special Libraries
2.2.5 Digital Libraries
2.2.6 Virtual Libraries
2.2.7 Hybrid Libraries
2.3 Summary
2.4 Answers to Self Check Exercises
2.5 Keywords
2.6 References and Further Reading
2.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
• explain the complex nature of libraries which need to operate across many
boundaries;
• discuss the different types of libraries that have evolved over a period of
time and their basic functions;
• categorise them as: national, academic, public and special libraries;
• explain the concept and the meaning of electronic, digital, virtual and hybrid
libraries and their functions;
• explain how excellent libraries keep renewing to meet the changing
requirements of the society as well as the user community; and
• discuss the challenge for all librarians to find that judicious blend of
traditional service and courageous innovation which will secure their
libraries’ future.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
In modern societies all activities of people are organised and conducted through
institutions. A social institution is an integrated pattern of human relationship
established by the common will and serving some vital need. The pattern is
caused through the interaction among people as a vital social need. In modern
societies special emphasis is being given to the aspects of literacy, adult education,
formal education, lifelong education, health care and dissemination of information
and knowledge. Educational institutions promote knowledge, skills and
socialisation processes of the society. Many of these institutions incorporate a
32
body of formal rules and regulations through which activities of the society are Types of Libraries
carried out and regulated.
Of the many institutions formed by the society, library and its modern cognates
are the most potent ones in meeting multiple needs of users in a modern society.
It was during the middle of the 19th century that social forces came into play and
revolutionised the character of library making it more and more a public
institution. The industrial revolution had a great impact on the concept of library
transforming it from private and personal institution into a democratic institution
and benefiting people at large. “Libraries are hugely complex organisations which
need to operate across many boundaries but have few, if any, unique services.
Yet they have survived for millennia, changing to meet new circumstances and
adapting to their users’ needs. They are there for the long term, not only in their
duty to preserve humankind’s recorded memory but as centres of expertise in
accessing, using and, increasingly, creating information and knowledge.
Doomsday scenarios have come and gone, yet excellent libraries keep renewing
themselves. The challenge for all librarians is to find that a judicious blend of
traditional service and courageous innovation which will secure their libraries’
future” [Brophy, 2007].
Francis Miksa (2007) takes a long view of the library which will allow a thoughtful
basis for discussing present changes taking place. Accordingly, first he proposes
looking at the library in society as an era-specific phenomenon and then discusses
the library which we know, the modern library, in the same way, as an era-
specific phenomenon, including the idea of the library that it replaced. Next, he
examines three principal aspects of the modern library which are now being
challenged by the present circumstances. Miksa feels that there are at least three
basic aspects of the present library that our contemporary, situation is challenging.
They are: i) how we view the idea of the library as a social institution, ii) how we
view the target populations that the library is to serve, and iii) how we view the
idea of library funding. Miksa’s views on all the above aspects are revealing and
merit serious consideration by the library profession. After long discussion on
the changing nature of the present library concept, Miksa concludes by saying
that the emerging library will differ from the present library in that it will be in
electronic form resident in individual communication devices. It will be tailored
to an individual or the needs of small cohesive groups of individuals. And it will
continue to need such basic functions as selection, acquisition, organisation, and
access mechanisms and services, just as it always has, although now fitted to the
needs of the individual or small group for whom such a library has been created.
Reference has been made to the authors Peter Brophy and Francis Miksa to
emphasise the point that the concept of library as we know it today is undergoing
change, and as such its role in the society has to be decided by the changed
requirements of its clientele. However, attempt is being made to provide you a
picture of different types of libraries as they exist today and their functions.
This section provides a brief account of libraries with a focus on the later part of
the 20th century, when both technological and political forces radically reshaped
library development. It offers an overview of different types of libraries and
explains their important functions.
The 6th edition of Harold’s Librarians Glossary (1987) defines a National Library
as:
• A library maintained out of government funds;
• Serving the nation as a whole;
• Books in it being for reference only;
• Usually copyright libraries;
• The function of such a library is to collect and preserve for posterity, the
books, periodicals, newspapers and other documents published in the
country;
• This is best done by a law requiring the publishers to deposit copies of all
publications issued by them; and
• Books purchased being published in other countries.
34
On the other hand, the ALA Glossary simply defines the National Library “as a Types of Libraries
library maintained by nation”. This definition does not specify or discuss the
services that a national library has to offer except the twin functions of collecting
and conserving the nation’s intellectual patrimony and purchase of important
books published in other countries. A far more detailed exposition of the term
national library may be obtained from the recommendations of UNESCO entitled
“Recommendations Concerning International Standardisation of Library
Statistics”. It reads as: Libraries which, irrespective of titles, are responsible for
acquiring and conserving copies of all significant publications published in the
country and functioning as a deposit library either by law or under other
arrangements. It will normally perform some of the following functions:
i) produce a national bibliography;
ii) hold and keep up-to-date a large representative collection of foreign literature,
including books about the country;
iii) act as a national bibliographical information centre;
iv) compile union catalogues; and
v) publish retrospective bibliographies.
It may be interesting to note that the Final Report of the Regional Seminar on
the Development of National Library in Asia and Pacific Area, held at Manila in
1964, contained the following as functions of a National Library:
• to provide leadership among libraries;
• to serve as permanent depository for all publications issued in the country;
• to acquire other types of materials;
• to provide bibliographical services;
• to serve as coordinating centre for cooperative activities; and
• to provide service to government.
It may be pointed out that Lor (1997), drawing on the work of Line and Line
(1979) and IFLA (1992), established three dimensions to the work of National
Library, identifying functions concerned with 1) Heritage, 2) Infrastructure and
3) Delivery of comprehensive national library service. Of these three dimensions,
delivery of comprehensive national library service is worth mentioning. Under
it (Delivery of comprehensive national library service) he considers the following
aspects:
• acquisition and processing of library material for other libraries;
• recycling and disposing of material acquired for other libraries;
• central support of reference, consultation, loan and document delivery
services by other libraries;
• system-wide professional and technological leadership;
• advice to other libraries;
35
Library and Information in • system-wide planning and coordination;
Social Perspective
• research and development relating to the development of the service; and
• literacy programmes using constituent and affiliated libraries as centres for
literacy promotion.
It must be emphasised here that from the perspective of the national library in
terms of its function-leaving aside medium and content – the national library
provides a cultural focal point which transcends the present and reaches into the
past, in terms of the material it secures, and into the future, in terms of transmitting
human knowledge to future generations. It fulfils these roles by collecting a
representative, although never comprehensive, set of records and by ensuring
that they are organised and preserved so as to remain of use in the future. A
national library which fails to build the representative collection or fails to secure
its permanence has failed in its duty”.
Of course, national libraries can not shoulder all of this responsibility on their
own, and they are joined by major academic and other libraries in a cooperative
endeavour which builds on specialisms which have developed over the centuries.
The National Library of China, Japan and India are some of the important national
libraries. Literature describing all the above libraries along with their functions
and services offered by them is available.
The National Library has some gifts which enrich its holdings considerably.
The famous of such collections happens to be that of Sir Asutosh
Mukhopadhyay collection gifted by his family. It covers the whole gamut of
subjects in the humanities and sciences as far as published knowledge up to
the early decades of the 20th century. Of course, the library possesses the
enviable collections of historians like Sir J.N. Sirkar and S.N. Sen. Archival
papers of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and other rare manuscripts greatly attracts
research scholars.
B) Services
The National Library of India provides the following services:
• Lending service including inter - library loan;
• Reading facilities;
• Bibliography and reference services; and
• Reprography services.
The lending function is rather peculiar for a national library. However, for
historical reasons, the National Library of India has continued its lending
facilities to the members of the library in and around Kolkata. Inter - library
loan facilities are offered to members and institutions with the cooperation
of other libraries, both at national and international levels. This service obtains
loan of books from Russian State Library, Moscow, British Library, London,
and libraries in Australia, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, and a few other
countries.
38
3) Mention some of the important national libraries of the World. Types of Libraries
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
B) College Libraries
College education provides a completely different environment to students.
Here, the teachers will not be in a position to provide individual attention to
students. Students have to depend more on self-learning. Therefore, college
library plays important role in supplementing class room teaching. In this
section we shall briefly discuss the objective functions, nature of collection
that needs to be built up and the services to be rendered to the different
categories of users.
The major functions of a college library may be summed as under:
• Giving the young minds (boys and girls) a wider and deeper
understanding of different disciplines;
• Preparing the students for advanced studies in various disciplines;
• Preparing the girls and boys for shouldering higher responsibilities in
life;
• Providing adequate reading facilities; and
• Introducing special materials to faculty necessary for their research.
For translating the above functions into practice the college library needs
certain key components. They are:
• A collection of books and other learning material;
• The identification of user community which comprises students, teachers
40
and the college management;
• Physical facilities like building, furniture and other equipment; Types of Libraries
The user community of university library generally falls under the following
categories:
• Students at different levels of study in different subjects;
• Teachers imparting instructions and guiding students at different levels
and in different subjects;
• Research students working for M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees;
• Post-doctoral research scholars working on specific projects;
• Professors and experts guiding research projects and managing research
activities of the university;
• Members of various academic and executive bodies of the university;
• Scholars in general, who get special privileges of using the university
library; and
• Others.
It can be inferred from the above that university libraries have a great
responsibility and a very important role to play not only in shaping students
for higher learning and research, but also in providing a variety of services
to meet other demands. It must be emphasised here that the university library
is governed as per the statutory laws of the university. Hence the library
system will be subject to scrutiny and evaluation by its academic and
executive councils. There are well laid out policy procedures for its
administration. The chief librarian manages the library as per the policy guide
lines. Let us now consider some of the important features which need constant
and special attention for the successful functioning of a university library.
The major areas of concern of a university library are:
• Collection development;
• Processing and organisation;
• Services;
• Professional staff;
• Physical facilities;
• Finance and budget.
42
Each one of the above components has a significant role to play in the over Types of Libraries
all success of the library as a support mechanism in promoting the goals of
the university in its pursuit for the achievement of higher learning and
research.
iii) Services
The major success of the university library depends on the range of services
it offers to its users. The services ought to be planned, keeping in view the
general demand for such services, and the capability of the library in offering
such services. The primary concern should be to initiate any service on user
needs and interests. Services can be categorised as follows:
• Library Services:
i) Lending,
ii) Information and reference,
iii) Reading facilities,
iv) Assistance in the use of library, and
v) Display of periodicals and current acquisitions.
• Awareness Services
i) Current Contents of Journals, and
ii) Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI).
• Bibliographic Services
i) Literature search,
ii) Compilation of bibliographies on specific subjects.
43
Library and Information in • Condensation Services
Social Perspective
i) Preparation of abstracts of specific topics,
ii) Digest services, and
iii) Review and preparation of state of the art reports.
• Other Services
i) Document supply services, and
ii) Internet-based search services.
• Special Services
i) User education,
ii) Exhibitions and special displays, and
iii) Special lectures and workshops.
One thing must be noted in the context of the provision of library services.
That is the services will prosper by offering high quality services. The basic
idea about the word quality, becomes when used properly, a statement that
the essential product-customer-purpose linkage has been established.
Fundamentally quality is concerned with meeting the want and needs of
customers. In other words, detailed knowledge and understanding of needs,
preferences, skills, and reactions of users is fundamental to the future of
library. The closer the library can get to its users as individuals the more
likely it is to find a place in the portfolio of services they choose to use. If
libraries can get this right, then they can become the services of choice for
their users. The present trend is towards personalisation.
v) Physical Facilities
There is no gain saying the fact that proper facilities in the form of a planned
building to house the library holdings and servicing them in functional manner
is a necessity which enhances the utility of the library. In planning future
library buildings the impact of computer and communication technologies
will have to be kept in view. Today most of the print materials are available
commercially in micro and machine readable forms making storage problems
rather simple. This aspect must be taken into consideration when space
requirements are formulated. Space allocation must meet the changed
information environment.
44
vi) Finance and Budget Types of Libraries
By the second half of the 20th century, there was general agreement around the
position that the public library fulfiled three interconnected roles: education,
information and entertainment. It enabled its users to undertake informal learning
as well as providing a place for study, it provided access to organised sources of
information on all subjects, and it provided entertainment, primarily through
lending fiction. Within these roles all libraries developed all manner of services.
However, as budgetary cuts started in UK, it became apparent that public libraries
were struggling to define what this tripartite role really meant in an age of mass
communication and mass formal education.
Policy level studies discussed much more deeply into the role of the public library
and the contribution it makes to society. In 1993 The Comedy Consultancy issued
a report under the title Borrowed Time which focussed on five main areas in
45
Library and Information in which Public Libraries are currently impacting on public life. They are: Education,
Social Perspective
Social Policy, Information, Cultural Entertainment and Economic Development.
Another significant event in this direction took place with the issue of UNESCO
Manifesto on Public Libraries in 1995. This was issued in collaboration with
IFLA. This manifesto emphasises the following aspects:
• The public library which being the local gateway to knowledge, provides a
basic condition for lifelong learning, independent decision-making and
cultural development of the individual and social groups;
• A living force for education, culture and information, and essential agent
for the fostering of peace and spiritual welfare through the minds of men
and women;
• The local centre of information, making all kinds of knowledge and
information readily and freely available to its users;
• Accessible for all, regardless of age, sex, religion, nationality, language or
social status;
• And lastly, the libraries which have collections and services, all types of
appropriate media and modern technologies, as well as materials with high
quality and have relevance to local needs and conditions. Materials must
reflect current trends and the evolution of the society, as well as the memory
of human endeavour and imagination.
The above aspects cover all facets of public library services. The manifesto also
spelt out key missions, which relate to information literacy, education and culture
which are at the core of public library services.
Public libraries were long perceived as places for lending and reading books,
especially fiction and journals for personal education and were not identified
with scientific knowledge. This view of public libraries is obviously changing
and they represent much more and more successful now than they were in the
past. But, what is the role and mission of public libraries in today’s Knowledge
Society?
C) Services
Special librarians have become adept at reading the runes (to try to guess
what is going to happen in the future by examining what is happening now)
of the environment in which their parent organisations operate. Therefore,
48
they scan information sources to find material that they know will interest Types of Libraries
their clientele. They master the ways and means of presenting information
that will save the time of their busy customers. Special libraries generally
provide the following services to their user community:
• Reference Service;
• Awareness Services such as Current Awareness and routing, news letters
and other bulletin services;
• Personalised and customised information services such as SDI;
• Specialised services like consolidation and repackaging of information;
and
• Analysis, synthesis and evaluation of information and data and
preparation of critical reports as and when required.
In all these activities they use information technology available to them. For
this purpose the staff need to be specially trained in modern information
technology, particularly in practical usage aspects. Only then, the staff will
be in a position to deliver the type of services expected of them. It goes with
out saying that they should be qualified in the subjects in which the parent
organisations operate.
In the foregoing pages we have briefly discussed the nature, functions and
services provided by different categories of conventional libraries. The
discussion provides you the basic knowledge necessary to have a proper
understanding of the functioning of different types of libraries.
A) Definition
There is much confusion surrounding the phrase digital library arising out
of three factors. First, the library community has used several different phrases
over the years to denote this concept – electronic library, virtual library,
library without walls and it never was quite clear what each of these different
phrases meant. Digital library is simply the most widely accepted term and
now is used exclusively at conferences, online and in the literature.
The second factor adding to the confusion is that digital libraries are at the
focal point of many areas of research, and what constitutes a digital library
differs depending upon the research community that is describing it. For
example:
• From an information retrieval point of view, it is a large database.
• For people who work on hypertext technology, it is one particular
application of hypertext methods,
• For those working in wide-area information delivery, it is an application
of the Web, and
• For library science, it is another step in continuing automation of
libraries.
Third, confusion arises from the fact that there are many things on the Internet
that people are calling digital libraries, which from a librarian’s point of
view are not. For example:
• For computer scientists and software developers, collections of computer
algorithms or software programs are digital libraries;
• For database vendors, their databases and electronic document delivery
services constitute digital libraries;
• For large corporations, a digital library is the document management
systems that control their business documents in electronic form; and
• For a publisher, it may be an online version of catalogue.
B) Characteristics
It is to be noted that characteristics mentioned below have been gleaned
from various discussions about digital libraries, both online and imprint.
• Digital libraries are the digital face of traditional libraries that include
both digital collections and traditional, fixed media collections. So they
encompass both electronic and paper materials.
• Digital libraries will also include digital materials that exist outside the
physical and administrative bounds of any one digital library.
• They include the processes and services that are the backbone and
nervous system of libraries. However, such traditional processes though
forming the basis of digital library work will have to be revised and
extended to accommodate the differences between new digital media
and traditional fixed media.
• Digital libraries provide a coherent view of all of the information
contained within a library, no matter its form or format.
• They will serve particular communities or constituencies, as traditional
libraries do now, though those communities may be widely dispersed
throughout the network.
• Digital libraries will require both the skills of librarians and as well as
those of computer scientists to be viable.
51
Library and Information in C) Issues and Challenges in Creation
Social Perspective
The optimism and hype from the early 1990s has been replaced by a
realisation that building digital libraries will be a difficult, expensive, and
long term effort [Lynch, 1995]. Creating effective digital libraries poses
serious challenges. The integration of digital media into traditional collections
will not be easy, like previous new media (such as video and audio tapes),
because of the unique nature of digital information – it is less fixed, easily
copied, and remotely accessible by multiple users simultaneously. Some of
the more serious issues facing the development of digital libraries are outlined
in this section.
D) Technical Architecture
The first issue is that of the technical architecture that underlines any digital
library system. The architecture will include components such as:
• High-speed local networks and fast connectors to the Internet,
• Relational databases that support a variety of digital formats,
• Full - text search engines to index and provide access to resources,
• Electronic document management functions that will aid the overall
management of digital resources.
One of the important things to note about technical architectures for digital
libraries is that they would not be monolithic systems with which librarians
are familiar. Instead, they will be a collection of disparate systems and
resources connected through a network, and integrated within one interface,
most likely a web interface. The resources supported by the architecture
may include:
• Bibliographic databases that point to both paper and digital materials,
• Indexes and finding tools,
• Collection of pointers to Internet resources,
• Directories,
• Photographs,
• Numerical data sets, and
• Electronic journals.
Though the above mentioned resources may reside on different systems and
in different databases, they would appear as though they were one single
system to the users of a particular community.
52
• Acquisition of original digital works created by publishers and others. Types of Libraries
For example: electronic books, journals etc.,
• Access to external materials not held in-house by providing pointers to
websites.
F) Metadata
Metadata is another issue central to the development of digital libraries.
Metadata is the data that describes the content and attributes of any particular
item in a digital library. It is a concept familiar to librarians because it is one
of the primary things that librarians do. For example, they create cataloguing
records that describe the documents. While there are formal library standards
for metadata, namely AACR-2R, such records are very time consuming to
create and require specially trained personnel to undertake such work.
Therefore, simpler schemes for metadata creation are being proposed. One
such scheme is Dublin Core, an effort to try and determine the core elements
necessary to describe materials. The lack of common metadata standards is
another barrier to information access and use in a digital library.
I) Presentation
Another important issue associated with digital libraries is preservation that
is keeping digital information available in perpetuity. In the preservation of
digital materials, the real issue is technical obsolescence. In other words,
preservation of digital information will mean constantly coming up with
new technical solutions. There are three types of preservation that one can
refer to. They are:
• The preservation of the storage medium;
• The preservation of access to content;
• The preservation of fixed-media materials through digital technology.
There are many more problems and challenges relating digital libraries,
however the scope of the Unit is confined to the basics and hence they are
not discussed here.
It has been pointed out that the current technologies focus on conversion of
paper to digital formats and not conversion of the library into a digital format.
In this way, the digitisation is comparable to the technology of microforms.
“it is more accurate to discuss the concept of digital libraries in terms of
digital coherence and its application to library collections than to discuss
the replacement of libraries in general with digital incarnations”. Digital
coherence can become a tool with which the library can provide value -
added information services to users. While a good deal of literature on digital
libraries emphasises technology and resources at the expense of service
perspective, a number of authors and researchers have considered human
interaction in the digital library environment. It may be stated that the digital
library proponents must consider the role of people (as users and service
providers) if the digital library is to be truly beneficial. Technology and
information resources on their own can not make an effective digital library.
Much of the explanation surrounding the emerging 21st century library is based
on the opportunities provided by enhanced access to information resources
through the use of networked information technologies. Existing libraries are a
product of an intersection and an interaction of people, resources, and procedures.
The delivery of services to patrons and other users, including library staff, is
built upon the collective personnel, information, and technological resources
that constitute the library. Library professionals (experts) are accepting the
potential and practicality of virtual libraries to better serve users by providing
access to a broader range of information than available locally and by supporting
traditional resource sharing among libraries.
But, according to Allan Powell “the virtual library can have many definitions,
including: A library with little or no physical plant of books, periodicals,
reading space, or support staff, but one that disseminates selective information
directly to distributed library customers, usually electronically. A more
traditional library that has transformed some significant portions of its
information delivery channels into electronic format, so that many or most
of its customers do not need to visit the library to obtain information. A
library that operates as a nexus of selected information management activities
within the organisation, some of them centralised, but most of which happen
through the efforts of decentralised staff, resources, systems, and even outside
suppliers, who are accessible and dispersed through out the organisation”.
“The key characteristics of a true virtual library are:
• There is no corresponding physical collection,
• Documents will be available in electronic formats,
• Documents are not stored in any one location,
55
Library and Information in • Documents can be accessed from any workstation,
Social Perspective
• Documents are retrieved and delivered as and when required, and
• Effective search and browse facilities are available” (Sherwell, 1997).
The realisation that convergence of communications and computing
technologies offer opportunities for extending the reach and the range of the
traditional library is driving the acceptance of the virtual library concept.
The Internet, the Web, and digital collections provide a context for making
the idea of a virtual library real.
C) Service-Based Architecture
Since the library, by its nature, is primarily a service institution, a service
philosophy should guide the virtual library. A library collects books and
other materials, and appoints qualified staff with a view to provide services
to its users. The following components must be taken into consideration
while building a virtual library:
• Users,
• Services,
• Resources,
• Technology,
• Management,
• Policy,
• Funding.
If we consider services as the output of the virtual library, the other
components should serve as infrastructure for the creation and delivery of
services to users. The interaction of different components of a virtual library
are shown in the figure.
Management
• Policy
• Funding
User Technology
SERVICES
groups
Resources
• Staff
• Information
The hybrid library is a term that has entered the parlance of library and information
profession recently. It is stated that the term hybrid library was first coined in
1998 by Chris Rusbridge in an article published in the D – Lib Magazine.
It may be pointed out that this kind of library has been given other labels.
The concept of “gateway library”, for instance, seems to be one which
describes a similar idea. In other words, the gateway library and hybrid
library are the same. They describe the real world situation where libraries
provide access to a range of different media but also express the ideal of
greater integration.
Hybrid libraries need staff that is trained in helping users navigate the vast
amount of information available in digital age. The staff should have expertise
and training in handling electronic media as well as traditional print forms.
The term digital divide is used to describe the gap between those with
information technology knowledge and those who do not possess this
knowledge.
59
Library and Information in Usually the concept of interoperability is focused on technical interoperability
Social Perspective
between information systems. For example, a system-centric definition of
interoperability might be the ability of two or more systems or components
to exchange information and use the exchanged information without special
effort on the part of either system. The hybrid libraries own and subscribe to
different resources in different formats. Some of the common formats are
e-journals, serials, print monographs, CD and DVD. The main components
of digital library framework are user interfaces, repository, handles system,
and search system. The handle system and search system are the major
components that should be designed with interoperability features to search
across different repositories owned by different vendors. The user interface
should be designed in such a way that it helps library users develop a common
knowledge to do searches across all repositories.
i) Collection Development
i) Technology preservation,
iii) Migration.
60
Self Check Exercise Types of Libraries
2.3 SUMMARY
Libraries are an important resource for individuals and for communities of people
who are interested in the preservation of knowledge. Their importance stems
from their ability to maintain records of human endeavour within a range of
different contexts using many different types of media. Libraries will therefore
continue to play important social, cultural, technical, and pedagogic roles in the
future. Obviously, some changes in the library concept will be needed in order to
accommodate the requirements of the new information storage and delivery
technologies and what these enable people to do.
5) Public Libraries are intended for and directed to all that live and work in a
certain community, to all ages, from children to elders, to all social, national
and religious groups, to all regardless of level of education and culture,
occupation or level of knowledge in order to serve their cultural and
informational needs.
8) The term Virtual Library has been defined in different ways. “It is a selected
organised collection of units of documentary resources Spread everywhere
(across space), Accessible always (through out the time), Where individuals
and groups are linked across the global electronic network and related in
different ways to documents that are fast and easily obtainable and available
in their full version., in view of satisfying multiple cultural exigencies
(information, learning and entertainment, etc.).
10) The hybrid library is a term used by the librarians to describe libraries
containing a mix of traditional print library resources and number of electronic
resources. The term was first coined by Chris Rusbridge in 1998.
Some of the issues facing the hybrid libraries are: the digital divide,
interoperability, and collection development, ownership of electronic
65
Library and Information in resources and preservation of digital media. The term digital divide is used
Social Perspective
to describe the gap between those with information technology knowledge
and those who do not possess such knowledge. The complicated and changing
copyright laws are a challenge for many virtual libraries as it is difficult to
make sure whether their users are using digital items lawfully. Also, hybrid
libraries need trained staff to help users to navigate the vast amount of
information available in the digital age.
2.5 KEYWORDS
Academic Libraries : The libraries associated with educational institutions.
Audio-visual : Hearing and seeing.
Browsing : To look through a book in a casual manner.
Consolidation : Comprehensive account, descriptive or critical
reported separately in different sources but brought
together on a specific subject for use.
Digest : A Publication comprising summaries of information
on a single topic or a number of related topics.
Digital Coherence : It means all the objects in a digital library, whether
sounds, images, texts, or some other media can be
treated in essentially the same way. Prior to digital
coherence, libraries needed to treat various media
differently. This concept permits equality among
various information resources.
Digital Library : A software system that is based on a architecture
System (DLS) and provides all functionality required by a
particular digital library. Users interface with a
digital library through the corresponding DLS.
Disintermediation : The term is used for the process where by users are
encouraged to interact directly with services.
Information Behaviour: The ways in which users seek, acquire and utilise
information.
Information Literacy : The knowledge and skills required to locate and use
information contained in various formats. The
ability to make significant connections to form
interpretations, to provide context, etc.
Innovative : Bring in novelties; make changes in.
Interoperability : It is concerned with standards needed to enable
systems to interact and information to be stored,
transported and communicated between and across
them.
Library Network : Interlinking library resources and services by means
of computer and communication technologies.
3.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
• explain the nature of information institutions and their growth pattern;
69
Library and Information in
Social Perspective 3.1 INTRODUCTION
The significance of institutions in modern society cannot be underestimated. In
this context, the opinion of Peter Drucker needs careful consideration. He
emphasises that “every major task, whether economic performance, or health
care, education or protection of environment, the pursuit of new knowledge or
defence, is today being entrusted to big organisations, designed for perpetuity
and managed by their managements. On the performance of these institutions,
the performance of modern society – if not the survival of each individual –
increasingly depends”. Drucker further affirms that every institution comprises
human beings – men and woman, whose performance brings success or failure
to the institution and there by to the society.
It must be pointed that not many research reports are available on modern
information institutions or organisations in the literature of library and
information science. In this Unit, an attempt has been made to examine and
discuss a variety of organisations, whose main stock in trade are knowledge,
literature and information evolved out of users needs and demands. The Unit
also depicts the information transfer patterns which have resulted in the creation
of information institutions with varying functions.
70
Information Institutions
3.2 EVOLUTION OF INFORMATION
INSTITUTIONS
In the literature of library and information science we do not come across studies
exclusively devoted to the evolution, development, organisational structure and
functions of information institutions. However, if we examine the institutions
that have come up during 20th century, especially in the latter part, we can discern
a typical pattern in their growth. However, this pattern could be perceived only
in the industrially advanced countries of the West. As it happens, their influence
extended to the Third World Countries also; with the result many Third World
Countries have accepted the Western Model in designing and developing their
own institutions.
The report entitled “Into the Information Age, A Perspective for Federal Action
on Information” prepared by Arthur D Little, Inc. describes the development of
information institutions in the USA. In doing so, the report identifies three basic
models of information transfer. The report contends that the process of transfer
of information / knowledge comprises a chain of activities, the main links being
generator, editor, publisher of primary publications, indexing and abstracting
journal producers, libraries, documentation and information centres, on-line
services, information companies and the end-user. The institutions that normally
perform these activities can broadly be grouped into three categories indicated
below:
i) Knowledge creating institutions (under this category come: research
laboratories, R&D institutions, institutions of higher education and research
centres attached to universities, etc.)
ii) Knowledge / information processing and dissemination institutions such
as: publishers of books and journals / statistical data organisations, science
and technology data centres and the like, and
iii) Institutions that collect, store, process, disseminate and service knowledge
/ information recorded in various forms such as libraries.
A careful analysis in this aspect reveals that over the years, there has been an
increasing interaction and cooperation among all these categories of institutions.
It may also be noted, that with the application of modern technologies in
information generation, processing, dissemination, distribution and use, many
of these functions are getting blended, reducing the distinction between different
link elements of information chain. At this point in time, the different types of
institutions mentioned above operate with their distinct identity. Therefore, we
need to discuss them in their present form.
The principal characteristics and features of the above mentioned eras are briefly
discussed in the following paragraphs.
72
During the period of operation of Era-II institutions importance has been given Information Institutions
to the type of dissemination products such as newsletters and trade journals
indicating that some Science Technical Information (STI) systems have a major
economic value and emphasis has to be given to market-oriented information
transfer mechanism.
The institutions that came into existence during this period had the capability to
handle specific type of information and could provide new products and services.
However, they could not evolve appropriate structures. Though the systems which
were developed during this era exhibit characteristics necessary to meet the
informational requirements of the times, needed further development and
legitimisation. The community of users whose needs the systems were expected
to fulfil was somewhat amorphous and ill defined involving a variety of groups
such as elected representatives of people, judiciary, technologists, media people
and the general public. In addition to the amorphous nature of the users, the
information systems had to tackle different types of information largely non –
STI – some of the categories being local, ill-organised, proprietary, value-added
and reflecting value judgements.
Naturally this situation augured well for the proliferation of information brokers,
consultants, information intermediaries in the form of new types of institutions
to offer specialised and qualitative services. Repackaged information, collected
from a number of sources with validated and authentic data, in the form of new
type of specific information service came into being.
It may be mentioned that the STI system has been evolved to meet the
requirements of scientists and technologists. It has been addressing audiences of
high technical competence and others having the training to understand the
material communicated to them. Expanding the context of information usage to
societal problem-solving entails interpreting technical results appropriately to
non-technical users to take informed decisions adds a new dimension. This type
of information is available only at a price.
Many terms have been employed to describe the new type of organisations. Each
of these descriptions conveys a vivid impression of new millennium organisations.
For instance, one of the descriptions conceives it as a knowledge-based
organisation in which employees’ knowledge is the organisation’s primary asset.
Another perception of a new millennium organisation is that it will be a learning
organisation in which the individuals, teams, and the organisation itself
continuously learn from the environment and from their activities, and act on
what they have learnt. A third view is that it will be a knowledge-based
organisation in which the products and services are customised and continually
enhanced or changed to reflect what has been learnt from customers. In other
words, it will be an extended enterprise, in which customers, clients, suppliers,
governments and other stakeholders are included explicitly in the definition of
organisation itself. Yet, another view is that it will be a “networked organisation”
in which computer-based communication networks enable wide spread and rapid
communication among all groups in the extended enterprise. Network
technologies like the Internet will enable any time, any place communication
and access to information. The Internet has often been described as a new frontier
housing endless possibilities within a democratic atmosphere. Information likes
to be free – an expressive phrase on the Internet reflecting a mentality of open
critical minds that were part of the net’s genesis. It may be mentioned that two
important considerations shape the modern organisations. One is the focus on
learning and knowledge and the other is the convergence of information
technology, telecommunications, and information resources and networked
environment. The rise of knowledge management as the focus of organisational
improvement efforts calls for knowledge managers. This aspect has implications
for information profession. In other words, information professionals must
identify knowledge management process to which they can contribute. Knowledge
management is concerned with the acquisition, transfer and use of knowledge in
organisations. The primary role of management is to develop the intellectual
capital of the organisation. In this context, it must be noted that for any
organisation the knowledge of its workers is the foundation of the organisations’
intellectual capital. Knowledge management strives to improve the organisation
and its contribution to the economy by increasing the intellectual capital of the
organisation.
74
Self Check Exercise Information Institutions
3.3.1 Libraries
Libraries are important resources both for individuals and for communities of
people who are interested in the preservation of knowledge. Their importance
stems from their ability to maintain records of human endeavour within a range
of different contexts using many different media. Libraries will, therefore,
continue to play important social, cultural, technical, and pedagogic roles in the
future. Indeed, for majority of people libraries will act as a powerful multimedia
window on the outside world, particularly through the use of computer network
systems. Obviously, some changes in the library concept will be needed in order
to accommodate the requirements of the new information storage and delivery
technologies and what these enable people to do. It may be noted that the
increasing availability of information generally and of new kinds of information
more particularly will lead to a redefinition and integration of the different
categories of information organisations. Traditionally these have been created
to manage different formats and media such as print and its surrogates (libraries),
75
Library and Information in objects (museums), and paper records of organisational activity (archives and
Social Perspective
record repositories). Differences in organisational philosophy, function and
technique have arisen from the exigencies presented by these different formats
and media.
The current wave of predictions that electronic technology will soon replace
books and libraries, is inspired by a rapidly accelerating series of developments,
in that technology which multiplies its power while drastically reducing its costs.
Among those developments are communication satellites, cable TV, inexpensive
mass – storage in the form of optical and digital video discs and powerful
microcomputers on chips. With them, we have acquired a technology which
fires the imagination and gives credence to even the most fanciful forecasts! In
this sort of environment, there is a danger that those responsible for the financial
support of libraries will neglect or prematurely abandon traditional libraries in
favour of more glamorous alternatives in promising but as yet untested
technologies.
The experts who are predicting the early demise of books and libraries have
impressive credentials. They include management experts, information
entrepreneurs, government officials, university professors, and popular futurists.
Their forecasts of things to come are based on insights that come from solid
knowledge and years of experience. They can neither be ignored nor accepted
uncritically.
The insights and perspectives of theoreticians and futurists are useful: they help
us to see and understand the complex social, economic, and technological forces
that are at work in our larger environment, but only those with authority and
responsibility can decide how and when these forces might affect any particular
enterprise. Futurists can tell us what the future may be like, but they cannot tell
us how to go there or when to make our moves. The really important decisions
about any organisation or institution must, in the end, be made by those responsible
for it, based on their best judgement and as much practical wisdom as they can
muster. Prominent among and representative of those who are predicting an early
end to books and libraries are: Dr. F. W. Lancaster and Dr. Vincent E Giuliano.
Of course, their views are well known and documented. Dr. Lancaster is a
proponent of the thesis paperless society and sums up his views in the following
words: “We are moving rather rapidly and quite inevitably towards a paperless
society. Advances in computer science and communications technology allow
us to conceive a global system in which reports of research and development
activities are composed, published, disseminated, and used in a completely
electronic mode. Paper need never exist in this communication environment.
We are now in an interim stage in the natural evolution from print on paper to
electronics”. In the event a paperless society arrives as envisioned by Lancaster,
there will be transformation of our society and our way of life. Obviously in that
society, not only libraries but also the institutions and the scholars they serve,
may also become obsolete. The best remedy is to cope with the changes, and try
to plan for the future.
Giuliano has put forward many arguments which in effect plead for the abandoning
of traditional libraries. Of these, the most important one demanding a careful
consideration is “as far as the information institutions in our society go, libraries
are of minor importance. Technology has already evolved to a point where access
76
to most of the world’s literature can be obtained with in a couple of days through Information Institutions
combination of online bibliographic searching utilities and vendors-supplied
computerised order fulfilment system for books, documents and periodical
articles”. If Guiliano is right on this point, then libraries would have indeed
served their purpose and may fade away. But, the truth is that most of the new
technology based information business, are still largely dependent on the library
market for their survival and the information brokers ultimately rely on libraries
as the source for most of the documents they supply to their clients. Most of the
books and journals go out of print with in a few years of their publication and are
no longer available except in libraries. Another point to be noted in this connection
is that most foreign books and journals and some specialised documents are not
available through normal trade channels. Only a few research libraries manage
to acquire and preserve them. Such materials are dispersed among a number of
libraries in every country of the world. Older and out of print books can be had
only from libraries.
Not with standing the arguments relating to the demise of the libraries by the
futurists, and the idea that electronic technology in the hands of information
entrepreneurs is going to put an end to libraries can be laid to rest. Libraries are
here to stay but by no means are they going to stay the same. Their functions will
remain, but the ways and means they used to perform those functions will change
in varying speeds for different kinds of libraries in different countries.
It is worth noting that the World Wide Web (WWW) is changing the face of
libraries – the way we use them and value them. The WWW will impact greatly
upon the library, whether the library wants or not. This impact, to a large extent,
would be dictated to the library by forces based both technologically and socially.
As a result of the Internet and WWW technology, libraries are now presented
with lack of linkage between the general user mainframe environment and having
library resources on a separate machine or machines. The WWW can overcome
the general user mainframe environment’s lack of features for information
discovery, as well as, provide the ability to create virtual site, where they can
create an electronic presence that patrons (users) can easily locate – a starting
point for library services. In fact, the WWW provides the tool for integrating
other systems of library such as online catalogues, and searchable text databases,
as well as allowing new resources and services. It may be stated that WWW is a
technology, which could smell the end of library, as we know it today or be the
beginning of a great transformation. It will surely have influence with or without
libraries’ participation. What will become of the library is not clear yet, as it
often takes many years for a technology to come into its full stride. Given the
rapid pace of changes that we are experiencing today, it might be inferred that
technological change can force social change upon society and its institutions.
Viewed from this point, the library of next few decades will be: i) a place where
people won’t come as a physical location of information resources; ii) will become
an access facilitator; iii) will coordinate access to locally built digital resources.
77
Library and Information in 3.3.2 Documentation Centres
Social Perspective
Before World War II, research activity was largely an individual affair. But, the
situation changed rapidly and it has become a team work. Both government and
private organisations came forward to fund research and development activities
in a big way. Specialisation became the order. Information explosion took place
in science as well as in technology. Keeping abreast of new developments in any
one discipline became a problem for scientists, engineers and technologists.
Library-based information services proved inadequate to meet the specialised
information needs of many research workers. To cope up with this new demand
documentation centres came into existence. One of the basic functions associated
with any documentation centre is that it brings to the notice of specialist users
current and recent literature of value to them. However, the functions that are
assigned to a documentation centre vary from one documentation centre to
another. For example, a local documentation centre has the sole function of
providing information services that support the activities and programmes of its
parent organisation of which it is a part. It would collect and serve information
concerning the actual work in progress of the parent institution. Towards fulfilling
this objective, the local documentation centre may be engaged in the selection
and acquisition of worth while material and its organisation for use. Its services
may be designed both to satisfy the existing and anticipated needs of users. In
other words, the local documentation centre might provide both anticipatory
service as well as services designed to satisfy specific demands of users. A national
documentation centre on the other hand will perform certain residual functions
and might undertake activities, which are beyond the means of local
documentation or information centres. Generally local documentation centres
are attached to individual R&D institutions, business houses, industrial
enterprises, and government departments, etc. and are administered by their parent
institutions.
Activities Products
Correlation of Data,
Prediction of Properties.
79
Library and Information in 3.3.4 Data Centres
Social Perspective
Data is an important ingredient of research. Its societal importance can not be
under estimated. The contemporary society needs data for various activities such
as planning, development and decision-making, etc. in every sphere of human
progress.
Data Data
Sources Users
base
80
• Data organisation and structuring into a database and Information Institutions
• Data retrieval.
For accomplishing all these functions a data centre should be equipped with
suitably trained manpower. In India many data centres have been established
under the erstwhile NISSAT programme. National Information Centre for
Crystallography is an example of a data centre.
The World Data System (WDS) was established to achieve and distribute data
collected from the observational programmes of the 1957-1958 International
Geographical Year. It was originally established in the United States, Europe,
Russia and Japan, since then the WDS expanded to other countries and to new
scientific disciplines. The WDS presently includes 52 centres in 12 countries. Its
holdings include a wide range of solar, geographical, environmental, and human
dimensions data. It is funded and maintained by host countries on behalf of the
international scientific community.
Information Broker
The information broker is an individual or a firm, who, on demand seeks to
answer questions using all available sources and who is in business for profit.
Broking rests on the axial principle: information for payment. In case of libraries
information is provided but costs are not charged to the user. One must understand
the important distinction between information which is freely available and
information which is free. The services offered by brokers comprise:
• Briefing or instant education;
• Information repackaging;
• Market research / analysis;
• Personnel recruitment;
• Press cutting service; and
• Seminars / workshops.
82
Information brokers specialise in providing fast and efficient services. These Information Institutions
firms largely staffed by the people with library backgrounds provide literature
searches, retrieve and supply documents. These firms may not pose any threat to
libraries. In fact, they supplement them by filling needs and demands that publicly
supported libraries cannot try to meet by providing special and expensive services
to business, professional and other users who can afford them.
Human Networks
Traditionally the major focus in information management, information science
literature has been on the physical nature of the information resource and its
enabling technology rather than on the soft, more qualitative human dimensions
of information processing. Understanding the human factors behind information
transfer and the nature and the role of informal communication networks in
organisations including the primacy of interpersonal sources of information, is
crucial to the effective management of the organisational information resource.
Human networks are central to information dissemination in organisations. With
most of us, it is the people rather than printed or computer-based information
resources that constitute our primary information source.
On the other hand, the informal channels represent the social interactions that
occur within organisations. While the two concepts are not necessarily mutually
exclusive, a distinction is made between them. In other words, in contrast to
formal flows, informal communication patterns tend to be spontaneous, without
much of regulation. However, certain individuals within one group play a key
role in organisational communication, linking different hierarchical levels or
divisions or acting as gatekeepers of strategically important data emanating from
outside organisational boundaries. The informal network exerts a powerful and
constant influence in organisations. In the analysis of informal networks the
organisation is regarded as a mutually independent social system made up of
components and connections among those groups. In 1960s, there has been
involved research into communication networks by J. J. Allen and others. They
identified particular informal communicative and informational roles within
organisational settings. The technological gatekeeper, the internal communication
star and the external communication star are some of the new concepts that
were put forward and discussed by them. These stars are approached by others
in the organisation for advice or technical matters due to their perceived
knowledge and experience.
Information Filters
Information filters is a new concept, which is related to personalised information
delivery. It involves a variety of processes involving delivery of information to
people who need it. The Information filters are essential mediators between
83
Library and Information in information sources and information users. In most cases, both information
Social Perspective
sources and information users possess no mutual knowledge that might guide
them in finding the information most relevant for the users’ immediate or long
term needs. Filters, which are positioned logically as third parties to the
communication between the users and sources, should possess both the knowledge
and functionality to critically examine the information in the sources and to
forward the information they judge as relevant to individual users.
The special feature about information filters is that they can work on behalf of
users as well as sources. In the first case, which is the most common today,
filters assist users in finding relevant information and overcoming the information
flood. In the second case, filters can be used by sources to target information to
potentially interested users.
Disintermediation
This concept means the finding of the information by an end-user without the
need for a third party. In other words, the process whereby users are encouraged
to interact directly with services and service providing systems such as online
systems. Similarly the introduction of self service issue is a process of
disintermediation. This concept is also closely related to what is known as end-
user empowerment. End-user empowerment refers to users having access to
information and having the necessary skills to retrieve their information according
to their own needs. With empowerment, they should be less dependent on
information specialists. This does not, however, necessarily mean that the
information specialist as an intermediary will become obsolete. This is because
all end-users will not have the time or the interest to do their own information
searches. Although, there is a connection between end-user empowerment and
disintermediation, end-user empowerment does not necessarily imply
disintermediation. It may be emphasised that with the advent of the Internet and
the increase in both the access to and awareness of information, it seems inevitable
that end-users will be doing their own information searching. It is obvious that
there will be some form of disintermediation. The level and extent of
disintermediation will depend on many factors, such as: organisational policies
on end-user searching, available technology, and the services provided by
individual information services. To minimise disintermediation, information
specialists will require critical self-reflection, refinement of their existing skills,
continuing expansion of new skills and active research involvement. As end-
users’ job requirements, their access to information, and their need for information
change, therefore, there have to be simultaneous changes in the role of
intermediaries. This is important for intermediaries who aim to improve society’s
access to quality information.
Knowledge Mediators
The process where libraries provide users with insight into the existing body of
knowledge and assist users in acquiring resources referring to or containing such
knowledge is known as knowledge mediation. The institution or persons involved
in such process are called Knowledge Mediators. They certainly constitute a link
in information transfer chain.
In the foregoing paragraphs an attempt has been made to explain some of the
important concepts relating to non-traditional information organisations or
deinstitutionalised information services. This is only illustrative and not exhaustive.
84
Self Check Exercise Information Institutions
On the other hand, during era-II organisations which were established during
1950s and 1960s fulfil the needs of mission-oriented establishments like the
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO), and the Electronics Commission. Also, Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR),
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO), and other research complexes may also be included in
this group. However, there has not been any effort to coordinate the informational
activities of these two eras of institutions.
From 1970s, it may be stated that era-III type of organisations started to emerge.
Institutions like Small enterprises documentation centre, documentation centres
attached to National Health and Family Welfare Institute, and few others, might
be considered as information support centres to problem solving type of
institutions. Most of the CSIR Laboratories started problem-oriented research
and required specialised information centres. This enabled the development of
organisations like the National Medical Library, etc. Public sector enterprises
like BHEL, CMTRI, SAIL and private sector industries like Bharat Electronics,
Tata Energy Institute, RANBAXY, etc. also developed their own specialised
information cells for meeting their technical information needs. Since most of
the above mentioned organisations grew in the context of serving scientific and
technical information and hence they did not attempt provision of societal
information. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) tried to integrate societal
information with administrative information in its efforts to design an
administrative information system for India. At this stage, it may be emphasised
that information services in India have not reached the level of sophistication
either in terms of utilising modern technologies to offer versatile services or in
the production of reprocessed and consolidated packages of information which
could meet the specific information needed at policy and decision-making levels.
In other words, the institutions that emerged as result of three era framework
could offer only traditional type of information services with hardly any distinction
inspite of an urgent need to introduce distinctiveness in their services and products.
It may be mentioned that the strategies and approaches for institution building
vary from country to country in accordance with its own environment,
requirements, priorities and the level of existing institutions. In fact, the
perspective mentioned earlier is meant to serve precisely this purpose. Information
institution building is a complex process. It involves men, material, machinery
and money which should be managed for obtaining optimum results. Of the
components essential in institutional building manpower is considered to be the
most complex and difficult component.
Human resources that operate the institutions are primarily responsible for the
success or failure associated with them. It is human resources that provide
leadership, technical skill, managerial control and evaluation of performance of
any institution. Such manpower need to be built up systematically. Many factors
need to be considered in manpower building.
88
Case studies must be conducted taking Indian information institutions as bases Information Institutions
to asses their preparedness for the KBE using the above listed parameters. The
new facts that such studies reveal will form the premise for revamping these
organisations and making them relevant to the new era.
3.5 SUMMARY
This Unit emphasises the significance of institutions in modern society specially
that of information institutions. In the absence of latest studies on the subject,
the report entitled Into the Information Age is found helpful in delineating the
contents of the Unit. The three modes of information transfer with important
features associated with three eras have been briefly discussed. The basic
characteristics relating to different types of information institutions emphasising
their specific role in the process of information dissemination have been explained.
The impact of non-traditional institutions such as information broker, etc. and
new emerging concepts like information filters, human networks, knowledge
mediators, technological gate keeper on information flow among researchers
and dissemination to user community has been explained in simple language.
The Unit also briefly discusses disintermediation and end-user empowerment
phenomena as new trends which initiated a professional debate relating to the
need and relevancy of services of information specialists in the changing
environment. The Unit concludes by emphasising the role of information
institutions and their paradigm shift to meet the new challenges posed by
Knowledge-based Economy (KBE). Some suggestions relating to the future
direction of growth of information institutions in India have been included in
this Unit. It is hoped that the information provided in the Unit will be found
helpful to the candidates pursuing the BLIS Programme.
89
Library and Information in ii) Mission Oriented Information Transfer corresponding to the value
Social Perspective
system of government sponsored missions (such as AEC, NASA in the
1960s) called Era II;
2) The last decade of 1990s has witnessed many changes. Organisations are no
more considered as production-oriented entities, divided by functions such
as human resource management, accounting, R&D, and marketing service,
etc. According to management experts, modern organisations are flexible
structures characterised by geographically dispersed work-force in which
client oriented terms based around organisational process act independently
to fulfil the objectives and goals of the organisation.
90
Information Institutions
Activities Products
Correlation of Data,
Prediction of Properties.
3.7 KEYWORDS
Development : Process of differentiation of activity (ies).
Disintermediation : Relates to the role of the intermediary in acting
between information (and other products) and its end-
users. In other words, it is the finding of the
information by an end-user without the need of a third
party.
As applied to libraries, disintermediation means the
diversion of information from centralised physical
repositories to alternate sources available directly
through computers and computer networks.
End-user Empowerment: Refers to end-users having access to information and
having the necessary skills to retrieve their own
information according to their own needs – in other
words, they can do it on their own. With
empowerment, they should be less dependent on
information specialists.
Era : Period of history.
Evolution : Process of organisation by development.
Growth Pattern : Process of increase in size and number with some
consistency.
Information Broker : An individual of a firm, who, on demand, seeks to
answer questions using all available sources and who
is in business for profit.
92
Information Filter : An essential mediator between information sources Information Institutions
and their users.
Information Institution: An institution which normally performs the activity
(ies) related to the knowledge / information transfer.
Information Manager : Network consists of a group of information managers
Network each of whom is assigned information responsibility
for a specific technical division while remaining
organisationally linked.
Information Transfer : A chain of activities, the main link being information
generator, editor, publisher of primary publications,
indexing and abstracting journal producers, libraries,
documentation and information centres, on-line
services, information companies and the end user.
Intelligent Agents : Sometimes called bots (and information industry
and Push Services know bots) are persons who assist user in document
access and delivery.
These agents take query from a user and act on his/
her behalf to find a solution. They form the part of
the portals infrastructure. Typical example is the
Shopping bot.
Invisible College : An elite of high performing scientists who has an
informal network of scientific communication and
the published literature.
Knowledge Mediators : Persons or libraries who provide users with insight
into the existing body of knowledge and assist them
in acquiring resources referring to or containing such
knowledge.
Technological : Expert both internal and external communication star,
Gatekeeper having much higher incidence of exposure to the
professional literature, attends more conferences and
has more professional affiliations.
94
Information Institutions
UNIT 4 LAWS OF LIBRARY SCIENCE
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The Five Laws of Library Science
4.2.1 First Law: Books are for Use
4.2.2 Second Law: Every Reader His /Her Book
4.2.3 Third Law: Every Book its Reader
4.2.4 Fourth Law: Save the Time of the Reader
4.2.5 Fifth Law: Library is a Growing Organism
4.3 New Insights and Wider Interpretation of Five Laws
4.4 Summary
4.5 Answers to Self Check Exercises
4.6 Keywords
4.7 References and Further Reading
4.0 OBJECTIVES
Ranganathan’s five laws provide a paradigm of how libraries function, how they
grow and serve, how they live, and so provide for us, a framework through which
to examine our professional lives and our libraries. Hence the need for this Unit.
4.1 INTRODUCTION
One of the most significant contributions of Dr.S.R.Ranganathan to the field of
library and information science has been the enunciation of his Five Laws. These
laws were first stated and their formal exposition was provided by the author at
95
Library and Information in the Provisional Educational Conference held at Chidambaram (Tamil Nadu) in
Social Perspective
December 1928.
It must be noted that the Five Laws are a first step towards putting library work
on a scientific basis, providing general principles from which all library practices
could be deduced. Every activity relating to library services has a rationale in
one or another of these laws or in all of them collectively. At this juncture, it is
necessary to emphasise that merely stating the Five Laws – or even understanding
the words – will not automatically lead to enlightenment about the functions of
libraries. Although the laws are simple statements, they demand contemplation
and experience before the richness and import of their meaning will be revealed.
However, contemplating them as we go about our business in our libraries will
provide us with basic tenets to guide us in performing work that fulfils our mission
as librarians and information professionals.
In this Unit, we shall try to study the implication of the Five Laws in the context
of conventional librarianship as well as their relevance in the context of
revolutionary changes taking place in the library and information science (LIS)
profession.
I) Implications
The first law of library science has some important messages for library work.
Some of these relate to the location of library, its working hours, library building
and furniture and the staff.
a) Library Location
For example, it has a forward thinking message in terms of the emphasis on
library location. The law advocates that library be located in a more accessible
place in order to encourage more users to use the library. Obviously, it will
be a discouragement for people to use books, if they have to walk long distance
to reach them. At the same time, the location where the library is situated
should be free from noise and other disturbances, so that serious study is
possible. An ideal place for a public library should be a quiet central area,
while a school library should be located in a prominent place in the school
premises. The idea that a university library should constitute the heart of the
university, then it should be reflected in its geographical location as well.
b) Working Hours
Another important message inherent in the first law is that the working hours
of a library should be convenient to most of the users. Many of the libraries
in India need to pay special attention to this aspect and keep them open
when their clientele are not engaged in other activities so that they are in a
position to visit the library. This type of proactive approach in deciding the
working hours of the library will certainly yield good results.
d) Staff
Staff form an important component of any library. The first law of library
science for its fulfilment calls for certain qualifications and qualities for
library staff. Though Dr. Ranganathan has spent considerable space in
discussing about library staff in his exposition of the first law, the essence
boils down to these important attributes: The library staff should possess
98
qualifications that would enable them to organise library efficiently and Laws of Library Science
provide satisfactory services. Obviously, this would ensure the proper use of
books. But, much more important than formal qualifications are, perhaps,
the personal qualities of the library staff. They should be courteous, cheerful
and helpful. Service with a smile should be the motto. The staff should always
remember that, everything that they do in the library is a means towards an
end, and the end is service to the readers. If a potential library user encounters
an unhelpful attitude on the part of the member of the staff, s/he is sure to
turn away permanently from the library.. in such a contingency, the cause of
the first law is not served rather it is defeated. The credibility of the staff, in
respect of their knowledge, ability and personal attitude to readers, is a crucial
factor in the promotion of the use of the books. The attributes discussed
above deserve special consideration while library staff is recruited. This is
necessary to satisfy the requirements of the first law.
I) Implications
This law has many important implications for the library. The fundamental issue
it reveals, tension (conflict) between the cost of materials and the basic right of
all persons to have access to materials they need. In providing a library for the
99
Library and Information in use of books, one must be mindful of the fact that since no one individual or
Social Perspective
library can acquire all the books, this responsibility needs to be accepted at the
governmental level. Therefore, the second law imposes certain obligations on
the state, library authority of the state, the library staff and the reader.
The second law implies that an adequate and competent team of staff is
essential to provide every reader her/his book. In other words, a reader should
be able to exploit the resources which are relevant to her/his needs available
in the library. The staff has to play a proactive role in this exercise. In the
absence of competent staff willing to help the reader, s/he may not be in a
position to locate a good number of books useful to her/him. More often
than not, a library finds itself in such a predicament, where users are not
served properly for want of adequate qualified staff. Such a situation should
be avoided.
100
Reference service gains its legitimacy and its purpose from the second law. In Laws of Library Science
his description of the second law, Ranganathan explains that reference function
is critical. He observes that it is the business of library staff “to know the reader,
to know the books, and to actively help in the finding by every person his or her
book”. Reference librarians are trained to bring readers to their books, either
through formal research instruction, informally in one to one reference interview
or by the compilation of bibliographies, research guides, exhibits, etc. In a sense,
patrons use the skill of reference librarian to find the library materials they need.
The reader also has certain responsibilities cast on her/him by the second law. It
particularly wants the reader adhere to the rules of the library in respect of loan
and use of books. If the reader retains the book beyond the period of loan, s/he is
depriving other readers, who may want to use the book. There are some readers
who misplace books with a view to monopolise, or tear off pages from books or
even steal them. This undoubtedly leads to the gross violation of the second law.
The readers should be made conscious of such violations and their consequences
by the library staff through short programmes of user education.
With best efforts, it will not be possible for any library to be self-sufficient.
There would be hardly any library which is capable of ensuring all the demands
of its clientele depending on its own resources. In other words, this points to the
need for resource sharing among libraries. The second law envisions emergence
of resource sharing library networks, both at national and international levels, to
satisfy its expectations fully.
Another innovative technique to draw the attention of the potential users to library
resources is organisation of book exhibitions, which have a bearing on topical
themes to enhance the chances of the books finding their appropriate users.
The third law also advocates maintenance of a well designed library catalogue
with effective cross references, and added entries meeting the different approaches
of readers. Of course, the importance of reference service cannot be over
emphasised in this connection. Ultimately, as Ranganathan asserted “it should
be the business of … the librarian … to adopt all the recognised methods of
attracting the public to the library so that every potential reader may be converted
into an actual one, thereby increasing the chances for the fulfilment of the third
law.
102
Self Check Exercise Laws of Library Science
I) Implications
Just as the third law the fourth law also pleads for open access system in libraries.
The justification is that in closed access libraries, the readers are not allowed to
the stacks where books are shelved and have to requisition for books they need.
The procedure is that they prepare a list of books they want after consulting the
catalogue, and hand over the list to a library staff member. S/he may locate some
of the books asked for and report the non-availability of others. On seeing the
books, the reader may discover that none of these books is relevant to her/his
need. S/he has to prepare another list and repeat the operation and wait again for
the result. This trial and error method may consume lot of her/his time before
her/his needs are met. A lot of time is spent counter productively in these processes.
Obviously, this frustrates the library user. A lot of user’s time is saved, if the
library follows open access system and maintains a well organised collection of
books.
There are other ways to satisfy the law. One of them is following proper
classification system which would bring together books on specific subject and
103
Library and Information in also related subjects. Another way is to construct a well designed catalogue which
Social Perspective
meets the different approaches of readers. It is important to note that while
catalogues are tools for retrieving items accurately, they become items that waste
the time of the reader, if items are haphazardly catalogued or if the cataloguing is
excessively focussed on the intricacies of the technique.
Another important aspect which has a great relevance to the Fourth law is the
charging system (i.e. loan of books) followed in the library. Earlier systems were
time consuming and some what cumbersome. Hence, efforts have been made to
simplify the process with a view to reduce the time involved in the operation. As
a result, modern systems like photo-charging system, ticket system, computerised
charging system, barcode system and radio frquency identification (RFID) system
have been evolved. Adopting any one of these systems will lead to substantial
reduction of time in the issue and return process which the fourth law strongly
advocates.
I) Implications
Let us try to analyse these implications and try to understand the guidance we
can derive from the fifth law in solving the problems presented by the dynamic
growth associated with the library.
104
a) Book Stock Laws of Library Science
b) Readers
When the library functions properly in keeping with the spirit of the first
law of library science, the readers of the library are bound to grow. That
means the readers need proper facilities by way of reading space etc. and
new types of services need to be organised.
c) Staff
It must be mentioned that mere quantitative growth does not mean anything.
There must be qualitative growth also. This requires the number of staff
must be increased commensurate with the increase in readers and books to
initiate new services to suit the needs of the new readers and to improve the
existing services to meet the changed demands of the readers and personalise
them with reference to service. The qualifications and skills of the staff need
to be updated to meet the changing circumstances. The staff should be
provided with opportunities to receive training in new areas of professional
development. The motto of the staff should be to render efficient service and
save the time of the readers. For this purpose, constant updating of skills and
growth in professionalism by learning innovative techniques and new areas
of professional development is necessary.
Libraries which grow fast, especially, the larger ones, need to modernise
their services by taking recourse to computerisation of all the house keeping
operations. This results in the efficiency of service.
The fifth law also advocates that care be taken while planning and designing
a library building by making provision for the expansion of the building
both horizontally and vertically. The need for more space often arises sooner
than anticipated and lack of provision for expansion would block the
development of library.
105
Library and Information in e) Weeding of Books
Social Perspective
The development plans for a library should also include provision for weeding
out obsolete books and adding new ones which are relevant and useful.
Weeding need not necessarily mean the discarding of books. It only means
removal of books from a library where their relevance has ceased in order to
make room for current and relevant books. Such books may be stored where
they are available for occasional use. Different libraries in a region may
cooperate in planning a storage facility for locating the weeded out books in
a central place so that readers in need of such books may go there and consult
them.
These laws “continue to give us a blue print for our professional values that is as
relevant now, as it was in 1931. The language may be seen as restrictive, but the
underlying values inherent in them means they can be continuously interpreted
for the future” . As a matter of fact, many of the scholars have attempted to do
so. For example: Rettison [1992], Chappell [1976], Naun [1994], Gorman[1998],
Kuronen and Pekkarinen [1999], Croft [2001], Leiter [2003], Satija [2003],
Noruzi [2004] and Choudhury et al. [2006] have provided new insights relating
the adequacy and relevance of Ranganathan’s five laws in the present context
and their future value.
• One of the most useful papers which provides significant insights and wider
interpretation of Ranganathan’s five laws and establishes their relevance in
21st century is the paper authored by Alireza Noruzi A[2004] entitled
“Application of Ranganathan’s Five Laws to the Web”. The paper poses the
question; “does the web save the time of users?” and attempts to answer the
question by analysing the application of five laws of Ranganathan to the
Web and reinterpreting them in the context of the Web. “The Five Laws of
the Web” formulated by him are:
1) Web resources are for use.
2) Every user his / her Web resource.
3) Every Web resource its user.
4) Save the time of the user.
5) The Web is a growing organism.
Before we actually discuss the impact on the Web, we need to know briefly
what the Web is and what it actually contains? The World Wide Web (WWW)
is an Internet system that distributes graphical, hyperlinked information, based
on the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). The Web is the global hypertext
system providing access to documents written in a script called Hypertext
Markup Language (HTML) that allows its contents to be interlinked, locally
and remotely. The Web was designed in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee at the
European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva [Nouzi,
2004]. It provides materials and makes them online accessible, so that they
may be used. The Web consists of contributions from any one who wishes to
contribute, and the quality of information or the value of knowledge is rather
108
opaque, due to the lack of any kind of peer reviewing. It may also be Laws of Library Science
mentioned that the Web is an unstructured and highly complex mix of all
types of information carriers produced by different kinds of people and
searched by a variety of users. It was designed to meet the human need to
share information resources, knowledge and experience. The Web masters
want people to interact with their websites and pages, click on them, read
them, and print them if they need. In other words, websites are meant for use
and not for admiration. The main objective of the Web is to help users all
over the world, by catering for their information requirements. It is in this
context, The five laws of the Web came into existence. In fact, they are really
the foundations for any Web user-friendly system. What they advocate is
universal access right of cyber citizenship in the information age.
• The first law: “Web resources are for use” is very important because
information serves no purpose, if it is not utilised and at least available for
people to attempt to learn. The role of the Web is to serve the individual,
community and service, and to maximise social utility in the communication
process. To satisfy the first law, the web must acquire materials and make
them accessible so that they can be used. Some webmasters are currently
closing their files by password protective systems, and others are charging
fees – the first law admonishes such people. Another point that the first law
emphasises is about service. In order to deliver and reap the rewards of
services, the Web must identify the benefits that society can reasonably expect
and then devise means of delivering those benefits. In other words, the law
dictates the development of systems that accommodate the use of Web
resources. For example, updating and regular indexing of Website resources
facilitates the use of site resources and the Web in general.
• The second law: “Every user his / her Web resource” has many implications.
It reveals the fundamental need anywhere in the world. This makes diffusion
and dissemination very important. In other words, each web resource should
think of potential user before Website is created. This means webmasters
must know their users well, if they are to provide them the materials they
need for their study and research. The second law also dictates that Web
serves all users, regardless of social class, sex, age, ethnic group, religion or
any other consideration. The law emphasises that every cybercitizen has a
right to information. Webmaster and search engine designers should do their
best to meet cybercitizens’ needs.
• The third law: “Every Web resource its user”. How can a webmaster find a
user for every web resource? There are many ways in which a web can actively
work to connect its users. But the most important aspect which should be
kept in mind, in this context, is that webmaster should add content with
specific user needs in mind and they should make sure that the users can
find the content they need easily. Webmasters should make certain that the
content they add is something their users have identified as a need and avoid
cluttering up their Website with content no one seems to care about.
• The fourth law: “Save the time of the user”. This law has been responsible
for many reforms in Website administration. A Website must examine every
aspect of its policies, rules, and systems with the one simple criterion that
saving the time of the user is vital to achieve the Website’s mission. In order
109
Library and Information in to save the time of the user, Websites need effectively and efficiently design
Social Perspective
systems that will enable user to find what they are looking for quickly and
accurately. At the same time, the Websites they are searching should make
them available most of the information that could be potentially useful. In
other words, the fourth law emphasises efficient service to the users. This
implies that a well designed and easy to understand guide map or index to
the Website.
• The fifth law: “The Web is a growing organism”. The web reflects and
represents the changes taking place in the World as the society moves forward.
In the process, a large quantity of information is added to it. Hence, a Web is
a growing organism. We need to plan and build with the expectation that the
Web and its users will grow and change over time. To cope with the dynamic
situation, it is necessary to keep our own skill levels moving forward. The
fifth law alerts us by emphasising the vital point that change and growth go
together, and require flexibility in the management of Web collection, in the
use of cyberspace, in the retention and deployment of users, and in the nature
of Web programs. The law advocates proper and systematic planning to meet
the requirements of change and growth.
In conclusion, these laws are not only applicable to the Web in general, but
characterise the establishment, enhancement, and evaluation of online
databases and digital library services, as well. These five laws concisely
represent the ideal and the organisational philosophy of the Web. No doubt
the five laws of the Web prove useful in the evaluation of Websites.
4.4 SUMMARY
This Unit discusses the five laws of library science propounded by Dr. S.R.
Ranganathan. While these laws seem simple on first reading, on second thoughts
and deep contemplation, the richness and import of their meaning will be revealed.
The five laws provide a paradigm of how libraries function, how they grow and
serve, how they live, and so provide for us a framework through which to examine
our professional lives and our libraries. These laws are the lens through which
practitioners can inform their decision making and set their business priorities,
while staying focussed on the user. It may be emphasised that the five laws of
110
Ranganathan continue to give us a blue print for our professional values that is Laws of Library Science
as relevant today as it was in 1931. The language may be seen as restrictive, but
the underlying values inherent in them mean they can be continuously
reinterpreted for the future. New information and communication technologists
suggest that the scope of Ranganathan’s laws may appropriately be extended to
the Web. In Noruzi’s opinion “these laws are as applicable to the current practice
of the Web as of tomorrow. These laws are not only applicable to the Web in
general but characterise the establishment, enhancement, and evaluation of online
databases and digital library services as well. These five laws concisely represent
the ideal service and organisational philosophy of the Web. … we can evaluate
web site by applying the Five Laws of the Web”. Since 1992, the 100th anniversary
of Ranganathan’s birth, several modern scholars of library science have attempted
to update his five laws, or they reworded them for other purposes. Some of these
are referred to in this Unit.
2) The second law has many important implications for the library. ‘Books for
all’ irrespective of the type of readers is the main message of the second law
of library science. It may reveal the conflict between the cost of materials
and the basic right of all persons to have access to the materials they need.
In providing a library for the use of books, one must always be mindful of
the fact that since no one individual can own all the available books, one of
the primary obligations of the library is to acquire body of literature or research
materials that will benefit each of the readers and researchers. The freedom
to access writings of all kinds and inform their own minds on topics that
others may wish to suppress. The second law reminds us to be impartial in
our dealings with our users. We may not like what they request from us, we
may think a book or other resource is low-brow, but we should never place
our own prejudices in the way of access. Users’ information requirements
are the prime consideration for building a collection in a library. In other
words, the collection the library is building and maintaining must be
111
Library and Information in representative and adequate to fulfil the expectations of the majority of its
Social Perspective
community of users. The book selection policy should therefore be determined
on the basis of the findings of the users’ survey. Library should not be stocked
with material that is not wanted by its clientele.
3) The third law of the library science addresses the fundamental issue of access.
The need to provide easy access to materials is one way of putting people
together with what they require. Equally putting, books into the hands of the
people who do not necessarily know which book they actually need is at the
heart of the third law. We could interpret reader development as being part
of the third law, since within its remit we promote books to the users that
may not be known to them and that we feel may offer them opportunities for
enrichment those other titles. Allowing readers to browse a collection through
open access is one of the inherent messages provided by third law. The open
access system facilitates better use of books because it gives freedom to
readers to choose what they want. The browsing facility provided by the
open access system ensures the readers chances of getting at their particular
item. It certainly saves the time of the reader to get the appropriate documents.
The advantages of the open access system outweigh the disadvantages
associated with its implementation.
4) Time is a precious commodity. Saving the time of the reader has always
been a concern of the librarian. In fact, the fourth law presents the biggest
challenge to the library administrator. This is the reason why libraries create
catalogues, bibliographies, indexes and abstracts. Saving the time of the reader
also relates to how we actually organise the library. The most important
aspect which the staff of the library should remember in this connection is
that catalogues and other devices are tools for retrieving items accurately;
they become items that waste the time of readers, if items are haphazardly
catalogued or if the cataloguing is excessively focussed on the intricacies of
the art. However, when considering the time of the user as the vital notion, a
simple and effective system is what is called for. Adequate staffing of
reference, information, and circulation desks, as well as telephone reference,
also helps patrons find needed materials quickly. Saving the time of the
reader means providing efficient, thorough access to materials. It means
satisfied library users. This is the prime measure of success of any library;
frustrated or disappointed users mean that the library has failed in its duty
and its responsibility. Hence, the library staff must make every effort to make
its service more efficient.
5) The five laws of library science of Ranganathan were a first step towards
putting library work on a scientific basis, providing general principles from
which all library practices could be deduced. During his life time Ranganathan
himself revised and reworded them to suit the work of documentation centres
and documentation service. During the period when Information Science
was developing Ranganathan’s five laws were interpreted to suit the
information work (service) and the functions related to information
institutions. However, since 1992, the 100th birth anniversary of Dr.
Ranganathan, a number of modern scholars of Library and Information
Science have attempted to update, reword, or reinterpret the five laws of
Ranganathan. Some of the major efforts in this direction are briefly considered
in the following paragraphs.
112
In 1992, James R. Retting enunciated a sixth law, as an extension of Laws of Library Science
Ranganathan’s five laws. It read as “Every reader his freedom”. It was
supposed to be applicable only to the type of service (i.e. instruction or
provision of information).
It may be noted that book, readers, and library are the basic elements of
Ranganathan’s laws. Even if we replace these key words with other elements,
Ranganathan’s laws still work very well. Based on five laws (of Ranganathan),
many researchers have presented different principles. For example, “Five
new laws of librarianship” by Michael Gorman became famous. Gorman, it
appears, reinterpreted Ranganathan’s Laws in the context of today’s library
and its likely future, and reformulated them calling them as [Gorman’s] “Five
New Laws of Librarianship”.
They are:
1) Libraries serve humanity.
2) Respect all forms by which knowledge is communicated.
3) Use technology intelligently to enhance service.
4) Protect free access to knowledge; and
5) Honour the past and create the future.
Obviously, Gorman’s laws are not a revision of Dr. Ranganathan’s Laws,
but another completely separate set, from the point of view of a librarian
practicing in a technological society. It may be mentioned that new
information and communication technologists suggest hat the scope of
Ranganathan’s five laws may be appropriately be extended to the Web. In
fact, Noruzi has analysed Ranganathan’s five laws in the context of the Web
and provided the rationale as to how they are applicable in the case of Web
design and Web sites evaluation. The five laws in their interpreted version
help to identify the Web a powerful inspiration for technological, educational
and social change.
Cana (2003) established the fact that Ranganathan’s five laws could be used
as normative principles in the case of open source software, and advocated
that they be used as guiding principles. Similarly David Mc Menemy observed
that Ranganathan’s laws remain relevant in numerous areas of modern library
and information practice, and will continue to be reinterpreted by the
profession for a long time to come.
4.6 KEYWORDS
Book : A packaged carrier of information and knowledge.
Growing Organism : A biological phenomenon indicating growth, not
necessarily indicated externally.
Information : A recorded message, irrespective of physical form
or content.
Information Society : A new form of social existence in which the storage,
production, flow, etc. of networked information
plays the central role.
113
Library and Information in Knowledge : Organised information irrespective of the physical
Social Perspective
form.
Reader / User : A person using the resources of library; a customer
of information institutions.
World Wide : An Internet System that distributes graphical
Web (WWW) hyperlinked information, based on the hypertext
transfer protocol (HTTP) the Web is the global
hypertext system providing access to documents
written in a script called Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML). It was designed in 1989 by Tim
Berners - Lee at the European Organisation for
Nuclear Research (CERN).
Cana, M (2003). Open Source and Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science.
Web. 21 September 2012 <http://www.kmentor.com/socio-tech-info/archives/
000079.html>
Cloonan, M.V. and J.G Dove. “Ranganathan Online: Do Digital Libraries Violate
the Third Law?” Library Journal (1 April 2005). Web <http://
www.libraryjournal.com/index.asp?>
Dasgupta, Arjun (2007). “Library Staff and Ranganathan’s Five Laws”. IASLIC
Bulletin 57.4(2007): 195-204. Print.
--- . “The Five Laws of Library Science: Then and Now”. School Library Journal
44.7(1998): 20-23. Print.
Satija, M.P. “The Five laws of Information Society and Virtual Libraries Era”.
SRELS Journal of Information Management, 40.2 (2003): 93-104. Print.
115